


Milky Way Tears

by Finnoola



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Blood and Violence, Bounty Hunters, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Some Fluff, Spaceships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:40:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 62,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22261210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finnoola/pseuds/Finnoola
Summary: “You’ve changed.”Changbin looks up from lacing his boots. He leans back, fixing Minho with a strange look.“How so?” He asked, pinning Minho with a curious look. Minho laughed, before turning serious.“You used to not care about how you would finally die, you’d take so many risks and would constantly end up here one way or another with bruises and cuts, so detached from life, it was as if you were waiting for yourself to do you in, not anyone else.”Changbin just stared at him. “What about now?”“Now?” Minho chuckled, a small smirk on his face. “I think you have something you would live for.”Bounty hunter Seo Changbin accidentally starts a inter-galactic manhunt for himself after he helps the Crown Prince of Kalur, Jisung, escape his own wedding.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Seo Changbin
Comments: 161
Kudos: 374





	1. The Fleeing Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Yayyy! More binsung. There needs to be more binsung, especially sci fi space opera. I really hope you enjoy the first chapter of this fic, and as a note, updates will be sporadic, and if you want to know when an update is close, you can check here on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/antisockmonkey) or if you wanna leave me something, here is my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola). 
> 
> Any who, kudos and comments are what give a writer fuel! 
> 
> Enjoy the story!

_Calaxian Galaxy_

_Planet Kalur_

_23 billion lightyears away from Earth…_

  
  


Bounty hunters, men and women who found their line of work in killing those who had targets painted on the back of their heads. Some were ruthless, others were merciful, and some were just trying to fill the whole that had been left. Bounty hunter’s were their own bosses, and they had a sort of creed amongst themselves that kept them all in line. It went a little something like this:

  1. Never settle for less than what you would pay yourself
  2. A bounty hunter is a bounty hunter, you can never change that
  3. A bounty hunter’s best friend is themselves, but never leave a brother or sister behind
  4. Never steal another bounty hunter’s job
  5. Never get attached, a bounty hunter that gets attached, leads oneself to their own downfall. 



Now, Changbin was good at his job. He was one of the best bounty hunters in the quadrant. He followed the creed like it was his own personal motto, which it was. Changbin had nothing but his NOVA suit, phaser gun, and his ship. And maybe his AI Jin, but he’d never tell him that to his face. 

Changbin looked down from his perch high up in the rafters of the spacious room he was in. There was some royal get together between Kalur and Golxias, some sort of peace party or other that was taking place at the palace today. Of course, his target just had to be here today, stuck in the middle of the crowd while Changbin bored himself to death by listening to aristocrates babble on through his TransCOMM. 

His target happened to be a Rasfarian senator, a senator who was more of the waste the public’s money and time type. Rasfarians were 5’11 pig nosed and squid shaped headed bastards. It also just so happened that this Rasfarian, was the worst of the worst. 

He followed his target up in the rafters quietly, careful to stay out of sight of the guards and guests. Crouching, he walked forward a bit until he was just above his target’s head. Changbin taps the side of his helmet, opening up a COMM link to his ship. 

“You got that signal ready, Jin?” He asks tiredly, cracking his knuckles as he waits for a response. 

A voice crackles through the line, _“All set over here, just give the signal whenever, Changbin.”_

With a sigh, Changbin gives the go. 

He watches as the Rasfarian excuses himself from his gaggle of guests, and heads out of the spacious room. Changbin quickly and deftly follows him above in the rafters. Carefully and quietly, he jumps down to the floor below behind a big tapestry. Checking to see if anyone noticed, Changbin darts out into the corridor, where further down the Rasfarian is quizzically answering his communicator.

The bounty hunter creeps down the hall, eyeing the form of the Rasfarian wearily. His back is turned to him, but Rasfarians had very good hearing. Changbin had to be careful not to make any noise. He reached for his Quark knife stuck in a compartment in his NOVA suit, praying that the Rasfarian would be too absorbed in his conversation. As he crept closer he could hear what the other was saying. 

“What do you mean I owe 345,678 pulsars? I owe no one anything and they should know that. Do you know who I am? I am Ga’lak Gaubrim high senator of the-”

Changbin reached up and brought his knife to Ga’lak’s back. He cursed his height for not allowing him to get to the neck, and for Rasfarians for being so tall. A good stab through the heart would work though, all seven of course. 

Ga’lak froze when he felt the buzzing tip of the Quark knife up against his back.

“You’d think you’d be more self aware since a lot of people want you dead, but I guess being rich and powerful does go to one’s head, now and then, huh?”

Ga’lak trembled, hands fixed at his sides. 

“What do you want? Money? I have lots of money. Power? I can make you the most feared, no, revered bounty hunter in the galaxy. I can give you lots of things just name your price-”

Changbin thrust the knife through the first heart in Ga’lak’s chest. The Rasfarian let out a choked sound, green blood flowing from his mouth.

Changbin chuckled. “Look, the only thing I want, is for you to die so I can get what I’m owed.” 

With a quick flick of his arm he pulled the Quark knife out and thrust them into the six other hearts. Ga’lak’s body slumps to the floor with a thump, green blood oozing out into giant puddle around the body. Changbin sheathes his knife back in its cover in his suit. He turns around and stops when he sees a horrified Golxian staring at him. 

“Ah, shit.” 

The Golxian lets out an ear-piercing shriek, alerting the Kalurian guards which come racing down the corridor at him. 

“Fuck!” Changbin swears, turning around and sprinting off down the hallway, the guards nipping at his heels. 

He starts to cuss more when phaser shots start whizzing past his head. Changbin speeds up, legs pumping harder. Turning a corner he snarls as he realizes he’s nowhere near the drop point for the ship. The hallways were endless, he never did understand Kalurian architecture, or why it had to be so maze like. Every single hallway branches off into even more hallways. 

Changbin suddenly takes a sharp turn and runs straight into another person. 

“Fuck.” He growls, grabbing the person by the arms and holding them steady. “Shit-” 

A shot whizzed past his head, damaging his helmet and the TransCOMM embedded in it.

He winces, from the sound of the shot going past his head and the feedback from the broken TransCOMM. More yelling turns his attention to the rush of guards coming from the direction that the person was coming from. 

_“There he is! Try and surround him!”_

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” 

He spares a glance at the other and quickly grabs onto his arm. 

“Come on!” 

He pulls the other along with him, dodging servants and guards who seem to pop out of corners. 

“Hey Jin, you got the ship up?” 

_“Southeast corner, I’ll pull it up on your screen.”_ A voice crackles through Changbin’s broken COMM system. 

A map pops up on Changbin’s face plate. He makes a sharp right turn, causing his companion to yelp. Changbin isn’t sure why he’s dragging the person along, or why he’s even helping them for that matter. It might have something to do with the fact that they were both being chased and Changbin liked being a free man more than a jailed one, or a dead one. 

Finally Changbin makes it to the outskirts of the palace, the wide open windows showcasing a coral sky and towering golden buildings. He skids to a stop, peering over the edge of an open window and noticing how far up they were. 

“Fuck that’s a fifty meter drop, where the hell are you Jin?”

_“I’m coming! Quit being a fucking baby, you’ve been in worse situations than this.”_

“Doesn’t mean I like being in them.” He muttered under his breath. 

A shot rings out and Changbin ducks, bringing the person down with him. 

There’s unintelligible yelling, words he can’t decipher now that his TransCOMM is broken. The two voices break out into a shouting match, arguing over what, Changbin doesn’t know. He takes it as a sign that he can prepare the jump to the ship. He hoists himself up, and pulling the other person close to him. 

It’s then that Changbin really has a good look at the person. 

He’s a boy, no maybe a young adult, not much younger than Changbin himself. He’s beautiful, and definitely a Kalurian from his pointed ears and pretty deep blue eyes. His hair is a soft blonde, and hangs around his head like a bright halo. He has a rosy-pink heart shaped mouth which is open in surprise, and a small petite nose. His eyes are round and wide, shock and confusion held in the gold-speckled orbs. His cheeks are full and round, skin supple and smooth. 

Changbin stares at the other for what seems like minutes, until he’s broken out of his daze by Jin’s sharp voice through the COMM. 

_“You better jump now or we’re gonna have a fleet of ships on our tail right outta the gate, Changbin.”_

Changbin looks behind him, noticing a guard and a servant fervently yelling at one another. He wraps one arm around the other’s waist, the young man squeaking and grabbing onto the cool metal of Changbin’s NOVA suit. 

“Hold on.” Changbin says, pulling him up to stand on the railing. 

He hears shocked sounds come from behind him, a worried shout catches the boy’s attention but he steadfastly ignores it and turns his head away. Changbin doesn’t ponder over that small interaction for long. He jumps, leaving frantic screaming and yelling behind him as he lands on the top of his ship. Quickly, he opens the top hatch, motioning for the other to drop down. The blonde boy does so without question, and Changbin follows suite. 

When both are in the medium sized cockpit of the ship, it starts to take off. 

A miniature blue hologram of a young man pops up from a projector in the console, gaping at the pair. 

“What?” Changbin says gruffly, tapping at the side of his helmet, releasing the lock and letting him remove it. He sets it down on the bench in the cockpit. 

The AI moves from his stand to the floor of the cockpit, increasing in size until he stands centimetres taller than Changbin. He’s a beautiful young man, with long wavy black hair, and sharp eyes. His mouth is wide and full, but open slightly in shock. He’s dressed in a simple white t-shirt and black jeans with sneakers. Many earrings adorn his ears, silver slivers of metal almost sparkling in the dim light of the ship. 

He looks at Changbin, then at the boy, before fixing him with an incredulous look. 

“Do you know who that is?” He asks, pointing at the blonde boy. 

Changbin shrugs, “Dunno, he was running from the guards, same as I was. Thought he could use some help.” 

The AI continues to stare at Changbin. 

“Oh, don’t give me that look, we’ll drop him off at the next colony and that’ll be that, we won’t have to bring him with us, Jin.” 

Jin’s eyes bulge out of his head. 

“Changbin. That’s the crown prince of Kalur, Prince Jisung. You just basically kidnapped him.” 

Changbin stops taking off his NOVA suit, turning to pin Jin with a disbelieving look. 

“You’re kidding me,” He says. 

Jin huffs before pulling up a Galactic newspaper article, showcasing the very same person on the front page, with the headline reading, ‘Crown Prince Jisung to be married to neighbouring planet Golxias’ young King Casfen’. 

Changbin looks at the picture, then back at the boy. 

“Well, shit.”

Jisung is 19, from what Jin has said. He was also running away from the wedding that was to take place that very day. The prince did not want to be married off to some king he had only met once. Jin knew all this because he was the only one who could understand the prince at the moment. The prince didn’t speak Universal English, but could understand it. Jin was acting as a translator for Changbin, as his TransCOMM was broken. 

Changbin was not good at picking up languages, it's why he saved up most of his money in the beginning to procure a TransCOMM. TransCOMMs were useful little devices that translated languages for the wearer, and also helped them speak it if need be. 

“All right, lemme get this straight, Jisung was running away from his own wedding, where he was supposed to be married to the Golxian king, Caspen-”

“Casfen,” Jin corrected, sighing as he did so.

“Whatever, but he ran into me and that’s why we’re in this situation now.” 

Jisung nodded, before going on to say something. His voice was childlike, but the words coming out of his mouth sounded melodic in nature. 

Changbin raised his eyebrows, looking at Jin for an answer. 

“He says he’s lucky he ran into you otherwise he’d be marrying the king right about now.” 

“That’s nice, well we gotta bring him back because I don’t have time to be babysitting a prince, nor do I want to.” 

Jisung stood up frantically, the light blue robes he was wearing flapping about. He grabbed a hold of Changbin’s arm and stared into his eyes. 

He whimpers a word, soft and scared. 

Changbin leans back a little, not used to being so close to other people. 

“He says please.” 

Changbin looks at Jin, who has a stern but empathetic look on his face. He turns back to Jisung who is still holding his arm tightly in his hand. His eyes are wide, pleading in nature. With a groan, Changbin relents. 

“Fine.”

Jisung’s eyes brighten up, his hands coming together excitedly. Jin breaks out into a knowing smile, which Changbin returns with a sneer. 

“But we gotta do something about your appearance, if you were to go around in those fancy robes you’re wearing we’d get caught immediately.”

“Caught? Changbin where are we going?” Jin inquired, eyes holding a calculating look. 

“TransCOMM is broken, and you know how useful that thing is when I’m doing a job. We’re going to Xalar.” 

Jin’s eyes widen. 

“But that’s like a quadrant and a half away, in another star system! It’ll take us a week, at most, to get there. The Kalurian Empire will have your ship flagged in every database out there, now that they know we have the prince!” 

Changbin looked at Jin, an eyebrow raised. “Your point?”

Jin sighed again, ruffling his black hair. 

“My point,” He started, walking over to the space map on the left side of the cockpit, “Is that we’ll have to take back routes to get there and _at least_ stop off at _two_ planets to resupply.” 

“Then will do that.” 

Jin growled, raising his hands and miming wringing Changbin’s neck. Changbin went over to the cockpit door, before turning around and looking at Jisung. 

“You coming?” 

Jisung startled, before nodding his head and rushing over to Changbin. 

“Let’s get you some different clothes.”

After leaving the cockpit, and going down to the lower deck, the pair found themselves in the storage room aboard the ship. Changbin went to a shelf and pulled out three containers from a stack of them. He placed them on the table in the room, placing each one down beside each other. Changbin opened them, each one containing different clothing items. 

Changbin turned to the prince who was standing there, curiously looking about the room. 

“Here, old clothes that I don’t wear anymore, you could probably find something that fits you.” 

Jisung snapped his head to Changbin, nodding slowly as he made his way to the table and began to rummage through the boxes. 

“I’ll be on the ship deck, you know how to get back right? Just through these doors, take a left and climb the ladder. The cockpit door will be right in front of you.” 

Jisung hummed, nodding his head as he watched Changbin begin to leave.

_“Ah.”_

Changbin stopped when he heard the little exclamation fall from the prince’s lips. He turned around fixing the other with a stoic look. Jisung shrunk back a little, before he steadied himself and spoke. 

_“Thank you.”_

Even without the TransCOMM Changbin knew what the other was saying. 

“You’re welcome.” He replied gruffly, before turning back around and exiting the room. 

Jisung watched him leave, a shirt crumpled in his hands. With a sigh, turned back to the task at hand. 

Jin was standing in front of the map, planning their route when Changbin made it back. 

“I swear, if you’ve dropped the poor boy in a pod and booted him out I will turn off the life support in this god-forsaken ship and let your body rot in space.”

Changbin chuckled before, making his way to the captain’s chair on the right. The ship deck, which was more of a cockpit, had two chairs situated at the front. The right was where the captain sat, and the leftmost chair was where the navigator would sit. The dashboard was full of blinking lights, dials, and meters. Switches and dials galore sat above the chairs as well, each one made for a specific function in the ship. In the middle of the dashboard was a circular alcove where an AI would operate from. 

“You wouldn’t do that,” Changbin started, sitting down in the chair and pulling the steering wheel towards him, “Who’d keep you company with their amazing sense of humour?” 

Jin slowly turned his head towards Changbin and made a face, before looking back at the course he just plotted. He sighed, tapping his finger on his chin before speaking. 

“Alright,” He began, moving his fingers across the screen as he spoke, “First things first, we gotta get out of the Calaxian star system. Then, when we’re clear we’ll head to the Galaborm galaxy and stop off at Figar, where we’ll resupply. After that, we’ll head to the Facros quadrant, stop at Safora, and then bam! Xalar is just the next galaxy over.”

“That sounds like a fucking backwards way to get there, Jin.” 

Jin groaned before speaking. “That’s because we have to avoid busy space stations and checkpoints, now that we have Jisung.” 

“Alright, alright, plot the course in the computer and stop nagging already.” 

Jin rolled his eyes and began making preparations to jump. As he was doing so, the cockpit door hissed open, and in came the prince. 

“Ah, see you made your way back, glad you didn’t get lost, cause then Jin would really think I booted you off…” 

Changbin’s sentence trailed off as he turned around in the captain seat and laid eyes on Jisung. 

The other was wearing a white t-shirt, which was much too big and baggy on his slight frame. He was wearing light blue denim overalls, and scruffy white converse high top sneakers. Jisung’s blonde hair was parted slightly in the middle, and he had little bracelets wound around his thin wrists. The prince still wore the blue dangly beaded earrings he was wearing before, most likely as they brought him comfort in this strange environment. 

He stood there expectantly, waiting for an answer as Changbin gaped quietly and Jin inspected him.

Jin spoke first.

“Where the hell did you find those clothes? Bin, you only wear gray, white, and three shades of black at all times?” 

Changbin glowered at the other before speaking. 

“They were a friend’s.” 

Jin raised his eyebrows.

“You don’t have any friends,” Jin started, which lead Changbin to exclaim in offence. 

Jisung just watched the exchange quietly, a small amused smile blooming on his face. He giggled when Jin made another snide remark which had Changbin furiously defend himself in return.

“Okay, enough, I had friends before you Jin, alright, can we just get back to what we were doing?” Changbin asked, turning his attention to the controls. 

“You’re not getting away from this conversation that easily, Seo Changbin, I will find out who was insane enough to voluntarily enjoy your company.”

Changbin huffed in response, grabbing a hold of the steering wheel and shifting the ship on course. Jin remained at the map, closely analyzing their path and making minute adjustments to it. Jisung wrung his hands together, unsure of what to do now that the pair had returned to their tasks. He looked across the cockpit briefly, before heading over to the bench on the right wall. 

He sat down and inspected Changbin’s discarded NOVA suit. He picked up the helmet carefully, turning the cold object around in his hands. The metal was worn and scratched, small tiny nicks embedded in the surface. He stopped at the right side of the helmet, eyeing a scorch mark burnt into it. Jisung noticed the broken little device, an ear piece, melted into the metal. It must’ve been the TransCOMM Changbin had mentioned. 

Speaking of him, Jisung hadn’t really gotten a good look at the bounty hunter. His eyes wander over to Changbin, who has risen from his position at the captain’s seat. Changbin is a little shorter than Jisung without the NOVA suit on. He’s got short black hair and a sharp chin. He’s way more built than Jisung is, broad shoulders and thick arms wrapped in a black t-shirt. He’s wearing monochrome camo pants, and large black military style boots, as well. There’s also a pendant, hanging from his neck, a large black stone with a golden design etched into the rock. Jisung tries to deduce what the symbol is, but he’s too far away. 

Suddenly his vision is blocked, and before him appears Changbin. He yelps, embarrassed at being caught staring. The other raises his eyebrow before speaking. 

“Never seen a NOVA suit before, huh?” He questions, picking up the helmet and balancing it in his hands. 

He stares at it, seemingly entranced by it before he rips his attention away from it and places it back down on the bench. Jisung looks up at Changbin, watching a dark look pass over his face. 

“NOVA suits are expensive, but necessary in this kind of business,” Changbin explained, face grim, “Without them, you’re just a child with a spear and no shield.” 

Changbin looked at Jisung, eyes cold and dark. “You’re lucky, many kids out there end up in a NOVA suit with no way back.”

Jisung felt a shiver go down his back at the expression on Changbin’s face. The words were coated in knives which pricked the back of his neck. He felt a deep, black cloud surrounding the other, suffocating him. 

Changbin gave him one last glance, before returning to the captain's chair. He sat down, pulling the steering wheel back to him. Jin had been quietly watching the exchange, hoping Changbin wouldn’t scare the poor boy. Noticing the uncomfortable look on the other’s face he went and sat down next to the other. 

“Don’t mind him,” Jin explained, watching as Jisung looked up at him, “He’s been like that since I’ve known him.” 

JIn leaned back and Jisung watched as the AI waged an internal battle with himself. 

_“How long have you been with him?”_ Jisung asked, curiously. 

A small smile found its way onto the AI’s face as he thought back to when he first met Changbin. 

“Well, I came with the Hawk, the ship that’s what it’s called, and that was about, let’s see, Changbin’s 21, that’d be seven years now.” 

Jin sat up a bit, looking at Jisung as he spoke. “He was pretty rough back then too, even at 15 it was like he’d seen more things than he let on. What, I couldn’t tell you, just that it really made a mark on him, and its affected him since. But we get along, most of the time, even if he is a bit of a hard head.” 

Jisung nodded slowly, turning as he looked at the back of the bounty hunter’s head as he commanded the small ship. He startled a bit when the other got up and walked towards the pair sitting on the bench. 

“It’ll take us about 8 hours to get to Figar in the next galaxy over, in the meanwhile, we should take this time to get some rest. Here, you can use my room aboard the ship for now.” 

Jisung looked up at Changbin, nodding at him. He got up and turned to Jin with a small smile. 

_“Good night.”_

Jin smiled back, “Have a nice rest, Jisung.”

Turning around Jisung followed Changbin through the ship until he stopped at a door. It hissed open, much like the other doors on the ship did, revealing a minimalist bedroom. On the wall across from the door was the bed, a small metal frame built into the wall. The sheets were messy and plain white, the pillows haphazardly placed on the mattress. There was a desk beside the door, a small lamp on it and a few books and notepads scattered across it. 

Jisung cautiously stepped into the room, surveying his surroundings. He turned to Changbin who was leaning on the door frame with a strange look on his face. 

“If you need anything, there’s a COMM link next to the door, just hold down on the button and it’ll connect you to the cockpit.” 

Jisung nodded, hands folded behind him. Changbin sighed before bidding the other good night and leaving. 

The prince watched the door slid shut, leaving him in an unfamiliar room. 

Changbin made it back to the cockpit and watched as Jin stood at the map, making adjustments and calculations to the route. He went back to the captain’s chair, making himself comfortable in it and putting his feet up on the dashboard. 

“Get your feet off the control panel, Changbin.” 

Changbin looked back at Jin briefly, before removing his feet and slouching a little more in the chair to make himself a little more comfortable. He looked out into the vast darkness that was space, before letting himself drift off peacefully, deep blue eyes and heart shaped smiles passing against his eyelids.


	2. Star Systems and Sleep Patterns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo! welcome to chapter deux (two) of milky way tears or MWT for short! thank you to those who've given kudos to the fic! i'm so happy that people like the fic and can't wait for people to see what i have in store for it! 
> 
> any who, let's get this show on the road!

Jisung can’t sleep. He doesn’t know how long he’s laid in bed for but he knows that just lying there in his thoughts isn’t helping. Maybe the reason he can’t sleep is because it’s not his bed? Maybe the sheets smell different, and the pillow isn’t soft enough? Or maybe he just doesn't like the thought that he’s taken someone else’s room? 

He rolls over onto his side, wrapped up in the blankets. Staring at the door, he comes to a conclusion. Jisung gets up, blankets wrapped around his form and leaves the bed. Exiting the room, he pads down the dimly lit hallways, bare feet flinching with each contact made with the cool metal flooring. He makes it to the cockpit, where he opens the door and peers inside. The cockpit is empty, the dashboard dials blinking periodically and the ship making soft humming noises. He creeps into the cockpit, blanket dragging behind him. There’s a chill in the air which causes Jisung to wrap the blankets around his slight form tighter. His legs are bare, having forgone the overalls to sleep a little more comfortably in the bed. Denim wasn’t the best fabric for sleepwear. He still wears the white t-shirt, though, which hangs like a dress on him, reaching mid-thigh. 

As he gets further into the room he notices a head peeking from behind the captain’s chair. Carefully, Jisung creeps over and sees Changbin sleeping soundly. His legs are splayed out and his arms are wrapped securely across his chest. Changbin’s head is lolled uncomfortably downwards, a bad position for his neck to be in. Jisung reaches out and gently nudges Changbin’s head so that it’s resting against the headrest of the chair instead. His breath is caught in his throat when the other shifts slightly in his sleep. Thankfully, Changbin just continues to sleep, blissfully unaware of the prince. 

Sighing, Jisung looks around, finally noticing that Jin was nowhere to be found in the cockpit. The AI was probably resting in his own way, the holographic form he took probably consuming some of his energy. 

His eyes catch sight of the empty navigator’s chair on the left of the helm. He creeps towards it, careful not to knock into anything on his way there. Jisung finally reaches the chair, sitting down in it and curling up into a ball. He wraps the blankets around himself a little tighter, sighing when he feels sleep pull at his eyelids. The prince dozes off finally, listening to the gentle humming of the ship and the faint snoring of the human in the chair opposite. 

Changbin doesn't wake up with an awful crick in his neck like he usually does when he sleeps in the captain’s chair. He yawns, stretching out his limbs and feeling them tingle when they regain some movement to them. Sitting up, he checks the ship’s course and realizes they only have a few hours left until they hit the Galaborm galaxy, and with it, the planet Figar. 

He’s checking the ship, when he hears a faint sigh come from his left. Changbin turns in the chair, finally noticing the sleeping prince. Jisung is all curled up, the blankets from the bed wrapped firmly around his form. His small pink mouth is slightly open, chest rising slowly as he sleeps. His blonde hair is fluffy and untamed, strands falling against his eyelids. 

Changbin sighs, ruffling his own hair before getting up. He stretched his arms above his head again, a pleased noise leaving his lips when he hears a crack. Jin is most likely still hibernating, checking the ship’s resources and data as he did so. Changbin looks briefly over at Jisung, before heading out of the cockpit. He’s worn the same clothes for more than 24 hours, and he needs a shower.

Jisung blinks blearily, awakening to the sound of hums and beeps. He shifts, noticing the seat next to him is empty. 

“Good morning, you slept well, I see.” 

Jisung spins around in the chair and sees Jin at the space map. He’s smiling, a knowing look plastered across his face. 

The prince feels embarrassed, words spilling out of his mouth as he tries to explain. 

_ “It-I felt wrong taking his bed-and it was more comfortable here, I swear-” _

He stops when Jin starts laughing, a high pitched sort of cackling and realizes the other was just teasing him. A pout forms on his face, kicking his leg as he watches the other devolve into giggles. 

_ “That was mean.” _

Jin stops laughing to look over at Jisung. He’s still pouting, lips protruding as he sulks. 

“I’m sorry,” He says through giggles, “But that was too easy, Jisung.” 

Jisung stops pouting momentarily to look around the cockpit. 

“If you’re looking for Changbin I think he went to go get showered and changed. We’re about an hour away from Figar.” 

Jisung nodded, standing up as he did so. He pulled the blankets up with him, loosely wrapping them around his form. 

He stood there, a little lost, before Jin took pity on him. 

“The bathroom is right next to Changbin’s room, on the right.”

Jisung smiles thankfully at the other, padding towards the door and leaving the bridge behind him. He walks the familiar path to Changbin’s bedroom, noticing that the bedroom door was open, light streaming from the room into the dim hallway. 

Creeping forward, he peers into the room and startles a bit when he catches sight of Changbin. His back is towards him, unclothed, and speckled with scars. His shoulders seem broader, but also more defensive in nature. Black hair is damp, water droplets still falling from the thin strands of hair. Another pair of black camo pants hangs low on his hips, feet clad in the same black military boots. But the most striking thing was the long strip of black metal along Changbin’s spine. 

It looked like a spine, interlocked and woven parts making the bones in the piece. It was fused to his skin, scarring along the sides of it, pulled and marred by the procedure and the prosthetic. 

Unconsciously, he walks closer to the other, wanting to feel the bumps and impurities in the skin. He wants to trace the lines of the cool metal with his fingertips. Jisung freezes though, as suddenly Changbin turns and the two are facing each other. 

Jisung feels the blood rush to his skin, his body warm all over. Changbin’s eyes are dark and hollow, empty voids in his skin as he looks at Jisung. With a squeak, Jisung flees, dropping the blankets and rushing to the room next door. 

He quickly closes the door, pushing on the button that locks it. Jisung leans against the door, head resting on the cold surface, and hands flat on the metal. Turning, he rests his back on the door and thinks back to the scars that riddled Changbin’s skin. Some were gunshot wounds, others were burn marks. Long thin ones, most likely cuts, deep into his skin, looked to be intentional. 

Jisung wondered, what had happened to him? 

Changbin watches the other flee, embarrassment burning through his very skin. Prosthesis like his weren’t very pretty, they were made to be used, not shown. He’d always hated how mottled his skin had become. So many wounds, so much blood spilled. Skin ripped apart and pulled and mashed together again. He wasn’t the prettiest thing to lay your eyes on, nor was he the most friendly. 

He sighed, pulling on a black t-shirt and wandering over to his gun discarded on the desk. Changbin picked up the belt, the gun strapped into its holster and secured it around his waist. He then picked up his knife and strapped it to his right thigh. 

Grumbling, he remembered his TransCOMM was a melted piece of plastic and metal, now stuck in his helmet. Instead, Changbin walked over to the COMM and paged the bridge. 

“How much longer until we reach Figar, Jin?” 

_ “Not long, 10 minutes at most. We’ll stop off at the port city Calgruss, less security there and it’s a little more rural, as well.”  _

“Alright, I’m coming down.” 

Changbin left his room, glancing at the closed door of the bathroom, before heading to the bridge. 

When he entered, Jin was preparing the ship for entry, readying the landing gear as the ship breached the atmosphere of Figar. 

“Where’s Jisung?” Jin asked, looking up briefly as he piloted the ship towards Calgruss. 

“He’s washing up,” Changbin replied shortly, picking up a black backpack off a hook above the one of the benches. 

“Jeez, what’s got you so worked up?”

Changbin stopped what he was doing and gave Jin a hard glare. Jin raised his hands placatingly, signalling he was backing off. Changbin resumed picking up items he needed for gathering supplies, Jin returning to docking the ship. 

When the cockpit door hissed open, Jisung stumbled in, patting at his hair and pulling at his clothes. He wore the same outfit from before, more colourful bracelets wrapped around his thin wrists. 

Jisung stood in the middle of the cockpit, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He watches Changbin sling a black backpack over his shoulder, a pair of black sunglasses framing his face. Changbin held a dark blue cap in his hands. 

“Here,” Changbin said gruffly, thrusting the cap into Jisung’s hands. “It’ll cover up your ears and it’s pretty bright out on Figar.” 

Jisung took the cap cautiously, watching as Changbin walked to the cockpit door and stopped. He looked over his shoulder briefly. 

“You coming?” 

Jisung startled, placing the cap on his head and following after Changbin. He waved at Jin who smiled back at him as he left. 

Following Changbin through the ship, Jisung kept thinking back to the scars. Did Changbin think he was disgusted? Is that why he was so closed-off, even more so now, with him? Jisung wrung his hands together, watching Changbin’s back as he did so. They had been getting along so well, at least Jisung thinks they had been. He wonders what’s inside the other’s head, making it a personal mission to get Changbin to open up to him. 

They ended up at the back of the ship, where Changbin opened up the back hatch of the vehicle. Slowly, as the door rose, bright light filtered into the small hangar. Jisung squinted his eyes, adjusting to the brightness as the door was fully opened. He hurriedly went after Changbin, who immediately set off once the hangar door had opened. After Jisung had disembarked, the hangar door started to close again, leaving Jisung in a bright new world. 

Figar was much different than Kalur. It was mostly a sandy, desert planet, but had a huge ocean that covered it as well. The city they had docked at was called Calgruss, and was a port city, by the looks of it. Jisung could smell the saltiness of the sea breeze from where he stood. The buildings were made of sandy brick and stone, but you could see the advanced technology riddled haphazardly with the stonework. Calgruss was very diverse, as it was a trading and economic hub for the people. Lots of different alien species, such as Crystix, a species made up entirely of crystals, and Halqs, a small, stubby, scaly species, were present among the crowds. 

Jisung realized that he had lost Changbin as soon as they had stepped foot off the ship. Panicking internally, Jisung tried to pick Changbin out in the crowd. As he was searching, a large alien, called a Talub, tapped him on the shoulder. Squeaking, he turned and was met with a squish-faced and slimy being invading his personal space. 

“Why, you must be one of them space elves as the humans call them, aren’t cha?” 

Jisung trembled, noticing the sudden sickly gleam in his four putrid yellow eyes. He started to walk backwards a bit, hopeful that the Talub would leave him alone. Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered and the Talub grabbed hold of his thin wrist in his massive thick fingers. Jisung tried to pull his arm out but was no match for the Talub’s superior strength. 

_ “Please, let me go…”  _ He pleaded, hoping the Talub would understand him. 

“Hmm? You don’t speak Universal, do you ya? Well, that won’t be much of a problem where you’re going…”

Jisung’s eyes widened in fear, his other hand coming up to try and pry the slimy fingers off his wrist. 

Suddenly, the Talub is pried off him, and he’s staring at a familiar back. 

“I think it’s time you left.” Changbin snarls, somehow towering over the large and incredibly tall Talub. 

His aura is dominating, but the Talub doesn’t back down just yet. The Talub rises from the ground to his full height, trying to intimidate Changbin, but he doesn’t so much as flinch at the tactic. 

“Look here, you fucking pipsqueak fleshbag,” The Talub starts before noticing the Quark knife and phaser strapped to Changbin’s waist and thigh. 

His four eyes widen comically, before he slowly backs up.

“You’re...him! Please don’t hurt me, I’ll leave, promise!” 

Changbin raises his eyebrows as he watches the Talub push through the crowd far away from the pair. Shaking his head, he turns to Jisung whose head is hanging down. 

_ “I’m sorry.”  _ He murmurs, unable to look Changbin in the eye.  _ “I caused you trouble.”  _

Changbin sighed, not understanding the boy fully, but getting the gist of what he might be saying. He looked at Jisung who refused to raise his head, hands bunched up in the fabric of his overalls. 

“Look,” Changbin started, trying to appease the boy, “I take it you’ve never left Kalur, hell, you probably have never even left the palace. The places we’ll be going to are pretty dangerous, so you’ll have to stick close, alright?” 

Jisung nodded, still not looking Changbin in the eye. Changbin scratched the back of his neck, before coming to an idea. He took Jisung’s hand and turned around. He led the other’s hand to one of the straps hanging loosely from the backpack. 

“Here, hold on to this and you won’t get lost.” 

The prince looked at the back of Changbin’s head, almost in awe, and nodded happily. 

_ “Okay!” _

Changbin sighed before walking onward through the town’s streets. They had parked the ship near the town square and the market. Jisung took in all the sights with glee, watching different aliens interact with each other, bargaining and selling their goods. There were many different types of stalls lining the narrow streets; clothing, jewellery, trinkets and gadgets, and food, being the most common amongst the colourful tents. Jisung followed Changbin dutifully, careful not to lose hold of the backpack. They stopped at some stalls, Changbin looking at tech wares and food, buying and placing them in the backpack. 

As the day grew longer, Jisung became hungry. When they stopped suddenly in the middle of the street, he noticed a tent that was selling a sort of pastry. It was flaky and golden, the dough crisped to a perfect shade of brown. There was filling in the middle of it as well, a bright red-ish magenta colour, some sort of fruit native to the planet. 

Changbin was busy looking at a stall next to it, one that held different parts and pieces of metal for NOVA suits. He noticed how his companion was staring at the stall next to them and quickly glanced at their wares. It was a pastry, made with the Pyra fruit so popular on Figar. Of course Jisung would be attracted to that, and he was sure the prince hadn’t eaten anything in the last 10 hours or so. 

After transferring the needed pulsars for the item Changbin needed, he pulled Jisung along with him. Jisung watched quizzically, as Changbin stopped in front of the stall selling the pastries. 

“Yeah, one of those.” 

“56 pulsars.” The vendor responded. 

Changbin raised his arm and the little band on his wrist flickered to life. A little transaction was made between his own band and the vendor’s, the number 56 flashing on a bright blue screen above both of the wristbands.

“Thank you, here you go.” 

The vendor handed over a pastry in a cloth, Changbin nodding his head in response as he took it. He turned around to Jisung and offered him the pastry. 

“Here,” He said, holding the freshly baked item towards the prince. Jisung took the pastry gingerly, smiling as he did so. 

Changbin nodded when Jisung bit into the pastry and a happy grin appeared on his face. His cheeks bulged out as he chewed, giving him an appearance similar to an animal that lived back on Earth. Changbin chuckled at the thought, garnering a questioning look from Jisung. Changbin waved him off, starting off down the street. 

Jisung happily munched on the pastry, the hunger that was gnawing at his stomach now beginning to be eased as he ate. They only wandered around a little more, Changbin having found all the supplies they needed at the market. 

As Jisung was too absorbed in eating the pastry, he hadn’t been paying attention to where Changbin was taking him. It was only when he had finished off the last of the crust, had he had looked up. Jisung gasped when he saw the view. They were at an outlook, high above the port city. The ocean could be seen from where they were, blue-green waves rolling by. Jisung rushed to the railing in place, hands clasping the cool metal between his hands as he leaned over and let the sea breeze wash over him. 

Changbin walked to the railing next to him, crossing his arms and leaning against it. He looked over at Jisung who was staring at the view in wonder, having never seen an ocean up close like this before. 

“We have a few more hours to kill, Jin’s probably still filling up the fuel and water tanks on the Hawk. We’d only be in his way if we went back now.” Changbin explained, turning is head to watch the two sun’s slowly setting on the horizon. 

Jisung leaned back from the railing, looking at Changbin as he did so. A smile graced his features, as if he was slowly understanding Changbin more. 

_ “You’re actually pretty nice, you know that?”  _

Changbin looked over at Jisung, who was smiling at him, all cheeks and teeth and purity. 

“I have no idea what you said, but I’m gonna assume it was something good.” Changbin replied, garnering a giggle from Jisung. 

Changbin looked out over the railing, at the landscape before speaking. 

“I wanna know why you were running away from your wedding, why you decided to come with me, and why you’re still here, but I can’t hear those answers just yet, can I?” 

Jisung looked over at Changbin and nodded. Changbin let out a breath in response, standing up and moving away. 

“Alright then, let’s head back.”

Jisung looked back at Changbin, nodding as he did so. He took one last look at the sea and the sprawling expanse of the port city, before following Changbin. 

When they enter the ship’s bridge, Jin is standing at the front console, looking at the wares. He didn’t look up as they entered, too focused on making sure the tanks were full and they had sufficient oxygen for the trip to Safora. 

“I see you both made it back in one piece, I take it there were no problems?” 

“None that required me to kill someone, no, so yeah, no problems.” 

Jin looked up at Changbin who was setting the backpack down on the bench. 

“Your definition of a solution is terribly flawed and counter-intuitive, you know that right?” 

“It’s still the quickest solution.” Changbin explained, placing the items he had bought on the bench. 

“Yeah,” Jin said sardonically, “To getting yourself killed.” 

Changbin stopped removing the items from the backpack, and turned to look at Jin. 

“You know, AI are supposed to be helpful, not assholes.” 

Jin made an affronted noise in response. 

“I am being helpful! I’m helping you not make stupid decisions that lead in, or result in, your own demise!”

Changbin scoffed, “You could have phrased it a little better there, Jin.” 

“If I had said it any other way, you still wouldn’t have listened.” 

“I listen,” Changbin muttered under his breath. 

“That’s debatable.” Jin quipped back.

Jisung watched the exchange with ever growing amusement, watching as Jin and Changbin continued to argue with one another. 

_ “You two get along really well, you’re like brothers, but you don’t outwardly admit it.”  _

Jin snorted, having understood Jisung’s comment. Changbin looked between the two, before looking expectantly at Jin for a translation.

“He said that we act like two bickering brothers.” 

Changbin made a face in response. “Half the time I wanna unplug you from the console because you’re so annoying, being blood related to you would be another added nightmare.”

Jin choked, whipping around and pinning Changbin with an offended look. 

“You want to disconnect me from the console? You bastard-!”

The conversation sort of derailed from there, Jisung quietly observing the pair as they prepared the ship for take-off. He sat at one of the benches, playing with one of his earrings. Jisung was deep in thought, mindlessly repeating the motions of flicking the earring back and forth. It was a comforting gesture, and the memory of who exactly gifted him these earrings brought him serenity. 

“Those a present from someone?” 

Jisung looked up, his finger momentarily stopping. The pad of his finger rested against one of the cool, smooth, glass beads. He nodded slowly, a somber look overtaking his features. 

“I take it from that expression, you don’t see this friend anymore.” Changbin started, looking at his hands, “It’s okay, some friends aren’t meant to stay around that long.”

Changbin looked back up Jisung when he said that, unmistakable pain wrought in his eyes. He looked at his hands, before getting up and going to the captain’s chair. He sat down in it, and stared at the control wheel. 

“Changbin? Are you good? The ship’s ready,” Jin asked, concern laced in his voice. 

“Hm? Yeah, let’s get this thing back up in the sky.” 

Jisung looked out the window in Changbin’s bedroom, the wide expanse of space laid out before him. It was eerie, but in a beautiful way. It felt like he was the only one here, out in the vast stretch that was the universe. It was a humbling feeling, making Jisung think back to the wedding he abandoned. Was it worth it? Why he left? He was just one of many in the universe. Did it really matter what he thought and wanted? 

He wrapped the blankets around himself tighter, wanting the black feeling swallowing his heart to fade away. After a couple moments, he got up from the bed and carefully made his way back to the cockpit. 

Just like before, Jin was nowhere in sight and Chanbgin was fast asleep in the captain’s chair. Like a habit, Jisung moved Changbin’s head so that it was resting comfortably against the headrest, before moving over to the navigator’s chair. He sat in the chair, curling up as he did so, letting the beeps and hums of the ship, lull him to sleep again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how'd you like it? any questions, any comments? pls leave kudos and comments and come yell at me at my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables), or here's my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola) if you're a little shy! 
> 
> my twitter is useful as i tweet about when updates may or may not come! in regards to that, the next update may be in 2 weeks as I have deadlines in the real world (ugh), that i have to abide by in that time. 
> 
> until next time! xo


	3. Forgotten Comets and Beautiful Strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, it me, finnoola here! welcome back to another chapter of Milky Way Tears! thank you for hanging on these past few weeks as i slogged through college assignments to get to the third chapter of this fic! 
> 
> Its a little smaller than the previous ones, ill admit, but that's because I didn't want to speed up the outline I had planned. think of this chapter as sort of a little intermission, of sorts, before we start getting to the big stuff!
> 
> anyways, comments and kudos are appreciated!

It was dark. All around him, darkness, not a speck of light to be found. Changbin stood there, looking around him. The darkness was familiar, but hauntingly so. It gripped at his throat, choking him. He was unwelcome here. 

Abruptly, he saw figures appear in the distance. They slowly formed, almost unrecognizable, until suddenly, he remembered. Changbin took off towards the group of figures, the fear inside him reaching a fever point. As he got closer, he couldn’t tell who the figures were, except for the one in the middle. The middle person was being beaten brutally, punched and kicked until he was on his knees. 

“No!” Changbin screamed, trying to reach the person as fast as he could but unable to, no matter how hard he tried to run. 

It was like he was running in place, not allowed to move any further than the spot he was in. Until one of the men beating up the person kicked them across the face, from where they kneeled. 

Changbin heard a sickening crack, and then, his own horrified screams. Propelled by the noise, Changbin rushed forward, the group of men fading away until only the broken body remained on the ground. 

He rushed forward, falling to his knees as soon as he reached the body. Their nose and mouth were dripping blood, his chin covered in the red substance. His eyes stared blankly, chest unmoving, body still. 

“No, no, please,” Changbin sobbed, cradling the other in his arms, “Please, come on, wake up, you can’t leave me here, you can’t!” 

He pulled the other into a hug, sobbing into his shoulder. Changbin was too deep in his own grief to notice the other’s hand twitch minutely. Then suddenly, he was being pulled back, and the broken bloody face of his friend stared back at him. 

“You killed me. You’re the one who did this, not them.” He hissed, eyes full of blood. 

Changbin woke with a start in the chair, one of his hands clutching his chest. He breathed heavily, body slowly coming to its senses. With a shaking hand, he wiped at his face, wet with his tears. He sniffed, turning to his left. 

Jisung slept undisturbed, peacefully dozing away while Changbin battled his demons. With a shaky breath, Changbin stood up, walking over to where Jisung slept. The boy’s hand was lolled to the side, blonde hair sprawled across his forehead. He reached out, hand slowly moving to brush Jisung’s hair off his forehead, before it hesitantly stopped just inches away. Quickly, he retracted his hand, and turned on his heel. He walked towards the cockpit door, stopping briefly to look over his shoulder at the sleeping prince, before exiting the bridge. 

Jisung had woken up, the only one in the cockpit. He had gone back to Changbin’s room to see if the other was there, but found both it and the bathroom empty. It was then he considered searching the ship for him, but decided against it as he did not know the layout of it very well yet. Instead, he washed up and picked out a similar outfit from the one he wore the day before from the clothes Changbin had brought up from the storage room. 

He returned to the cockpit, still empty, and looked around. He noticed a clock on the digital screen above the dashboard of the ship. Jisung walked over, looking at the numbers. It showed how much longer until they would hit Safora. It read: 7 hours and 36 minutes. The prince sighed, ruffling his hair as he looked around the small space. What would he do for that remaining time until they got there? 

As he was thinking of ways to pass the time, something caught his eye. Above the bench behind the captain’s chair, was a computer console. Jisung walked over to the bench, seating himself on it and tapping the screen. 

It lit up, the keyboard appearing as well on the dashboard below it. He looked at the desktop of the computer, noticing a search bar in the top right of the screen. Tapping at the search bar, he tentatively typed a word into it. Immediately, a whole range of items pertaining to the word Jisung typed in, appeared on screen. 

Blinking, he erased his previous search, and typed another word in. Again, a whole range of items appeared on screen. With a gasp of awe, he realized the computer was a database, which holds information regarding a specific planet. He scrolled through the search results, before coming across the planet name amongst the results. 

“Ear..th?” He read out loud, testing the word on his tongue. 

Was this the planet that Changbin was from? He knew humans didn’t just come from their homeworld now, they lived in colonies on other inhabitable planets. But was Changbin from the birthplace of the human race? The little blue planet, as the humans themselves had called it? 

He sat there, trying to calculate the distance from the galaxy they were currently in, to the Milky Way, the galaxy wherein Earth was located. After a few moments of deliberation, he typed his question into the computer. 

After a few moments of calculation, the answer popped up on screen. Jisung balked. They were almost on the other side of the universe! How did Changbin end up so far away from his home planet? Sitting there, he chewed at his bottom lip, mind racing with a million possible answers but coming up with nothing plausible.

He sighed, trying to push the troubling thought away. Jisung cleared the search, before entering another term. 

‘Animals’

Immediately he was bombarded with thousands upon thousands of species that lived on the planet. He scrolled through pictures and articles, reading about animals that looked or sounded the most interesting to him. There were funny creatures, such as frogs, which evolved from this small black, little fish-like being, to a green, floppy legged critter with large eyes. He noticed that humans kept certain animals as companions, just like Kalurians did. The most popular amongst the humans were animals called cats and dogs. The dogs were cute, furry, four legged creatures. They had wagging tails and were usually bigger than their feline counterparts. They were characterized as being ‘man’s best friend’, and were extremely sociable animals. 

Cats were more for the quiet humans. Jisung read that they were very self sufficient, unlike their canine companions, and could be trained to use a ‘litter box’, as it was called, and didn’t need to be taken out for walks. They were also very solitary, but that didn’t mean they weren’t affectionate. Reading, he learned that cats really only get attached to one human, and were very cute when they meowed. He found loads of cute videos of baby cats, ‘kittens’, as they’re called and felt his heart being squeezed at how tiny their little paws and tails were. 

After exploring the animal kingdom of Earth, he decided to look at the culture. He searched up artworks, and found many beautiful and interesting paintings, as well as sculptures and other forms of art. This led him to music. 

Jisung loved music. It was the one thing he absolutely loved about Kalur and other planets, was that there was music. He was excited to see the database overflow with thousands of artists and bands and musicians, eager to hear what each one had to offer. 

There were thousands of genres, and many songs that Jisung had to choose from. He simplified the music database by organizing it by genre. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to listen to so when he stopped at a category called ‘slow songs’, he paused. Jisung randomly clicked on one of the songs, and a soft, romantic melody played through the ship speakers. 

It was kinda like the music he had to dance to at parties and galas his parents threw for neighbouring planets. He sat there, head bopping softly to the song and listening to the lyrics. When that song ended he picked another one. After 10 minutes of choosing different songs, Jisung suddenly got an idea. 

As he was wondering how to put his idea into action, the cockpit door hissed open and in walked Changbin. Jisung whirled around, a greeting on the tip of his tongue that evaporated when he took in the sight of the other. 

Changbin looked haggard. There were dark circles under his eyes and his mouth was set in a thin line. His eyes were hollow, empty of emotion. He followed the other with his eyes who walked over to the captain’s controls and fiddled with a few dials. Jisung sat there, looking at Changbin with worry before remembering his idea. 

_ “Changbin,”  _ He said, standing up as he did so. Changbin didn’t answer immediately, too focused on the control panel. Jisung took a few more steps towards the other until he was beside him. Changbin finally took notice of the other, head raising slowly to look at the prince. 

“We still have a long way to go, about 5 hours until we hit Safora, after that, it’ll just be another two hours until Xalar-”

Changbin stopped when he saw Jisung give him a look. He leaned against the control panel, arms crossed over his chest. 

“You don’t care about that do you?” 

Jisung shook his head, a smile on his face. He pointed to the computer, watching as Changbin followed his arm to the console. 

He raised his eyebrows, looking at Jisung for an explanation. Jisung just walks over to the computer above the bench. He taps away at the keyboard, Changbin staring at him curiously as he did so. With a noise of satisfaction, he taps once more on the keyboard and a soft, slow song starts to play through the ship’s speakers. Jisung whirls around, a bright smile plastered across his face. 

Changbin raises his eyebrows at the other before speaking. 

“I don’t dance.” He said simply, watching as a pout formed on Jisung’s lips.

Jisung walked forward, grabbing Changbin’s hands in his own. Changbin flinched at the contact, hands falling out of Jisung’s grasp. He watched as Jisung’s face fell, eyes downcast. Changbin felt a pang in his chest. He was always making the other unhappy, wasn’t he?

Sighing, he reached for Jisung’s hands, and saw his eyes light up. A small, shy smile formed on the prince’s lips, as he guided Changbin’s hands to his waist. Changbin bit his lip, feeling the warmth radiating from his skin underneath the fabric of his shirt. Jisung wounds his arms around Changbin’s neck, nervously watching his expression. 

Changbin hadn’t been this close to someone in years. Especially like this, so soft and intimate with another. 

“What now?” Changbin asked, voice breathy as he noticed how close their faces were. 

Jisung looked down, causing Changbin to do so as well. He watched as Jisung took a step back, pulling him with him. He followed, carefully taking a step forward. They repeated this process, one foot forward, one foot backward, spinning slowly as they did so. After Changbin was sure he wasn’t gonna step on the other’s toes, he looked up and found Jisung staring back at him. 

He watched a bright pink flush spread across his cheeks, the other’s deep blue eyes nervously flicking away. His ears were flushed as well, pointed tips a soft carnation pink. Changbin was still staring at Jisung’s face when he looked back, the sudden eyes on him causing him to stumble. 

“Easy.” Changbin softly chided, eyes never leaving his face. 

Jisung blushed even harder, averting his eyes from Changbin’s gaze. Trying to direct his attention to something else, he focused on the pendant that Changbin always wore around his neck. He could see the symbol etched onto the black stone now, a complicated symbol made of lines. It was hard to explain, as Jisung had never seen I symbol like this before. 

Changbin noticed him furiously staring at the pendant, chuckling at his serious facial expression. 

“It’s called a  _ vegvísir _ , an old human symbol. It helps the wearer never lose their way,” Changbin explained, looking away, before a somber look passed over his face, “My mother gave it to me.”

Jisung looked at Changbin, watching a plethora of emotion rush across his face as he spoke. 

“She was a historian, one that specialized in the early years of the human race. She travelled a lot, and she’d always bring things back on trips.” 

He became quiet, deep in the past, lost in his own memories. Jisung frowned, he hadn’t meant to bring up such sad memories. Jisung suddenly breaks away from Changbin and moves back a bit. 

Changbin looks at him surprised, watching as the other tries to convey what he wants. He points at himself, before pointing at Changbin. Jisung then mimes punching something and Changbin’s eyebrows raise. 

“You want me to teach you how to fight?” 

A bright smile appears on Jisung’s face as Changbin gets what he was saying on the first try. He nods, watching as Changbin shrugs. 

Jisung punches the air in excitement, Changbin softly chuckling at his enthusiasm.

“Alright, alright, calm down.” Changbin said, watching as Jisung stopped himself, practically vibrating in excitement. 

Changbin raised his arms one pulled closer to his body, the other farther out. 

“Okay, copy me. Put your arms up like this,” Changbin instructed, watching as Jisung did the same. 

“Cool, now I want you to punch the center of my hand as hard as you can, keep your arm straight when you throw it, and make sure your arms are level with your shoulders, yeah like that,” Changbin confirmed, as Jisung adjusted himself accordingly. 

Changbin then raised his hands up, palms flat and pointing outward. He crouched a bit, so that Jisung’s hands were level with his own. 

“Okay, go ahead, it doesn’t have to be super hard or anything, you’re just practicing.” 

Jisung nodded before hesitantly throwing his arm out. There was a small sound, as his fist made contact with Changbin’s palm. 

“Good, go ahead, try another.” Changbin encouraged, watching as Jisung’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration. His tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth a bit as he threw two more punches in a more confident manner than last. 

“Nice!” Changbin exclaimed, watching a smile bloom across the other’s face from the compliment. 

They went on like that for a couple more minutes, Changbin helping Jisung adjust his posture, and show him better ways to hold someone off. 

“I see that you two are getting along well,” Jin spoke up from the console. 

Jisung whirled around and smiled at the AI. “ _Jin!_ _Changbin was teaching me how to fight!_ ”

“Was he?” Jin said suspiciously, eyeing Changbin who was studiously looking away from him. 

“ _ Oh! I also taught Changbin how to dance, too! _ ” 

At this, Jin’s eyes went wide. “Him? Dance? Impossible! You might just be a wizard Jisung, I could never get him to loosen up like this!” 

Jisung blushed, playing with his fingers. 

“ _ Uh, so what have you been up to, Jin?”  _ Jisung asked, trying to steer the conversation away from himself. 

“I’ve been reviewing data and checking the ship’s systems, nothing to write home about. You two on the other hand, have been having quite the time here, huh?” Jin smiled smugly, watching as Jisung’s face turned even redder, the tips of his ears a startling pink.

“Stop teasing him, Jin, jeez,” Changbin admonished.

Jin’s eyebrows raised high up into his hairline at Changbin’s remark. 

“My god, has Seo Changbin gone soft?! Why, I don’t believe it,” Jin playfully teased, watching as Changbin sighed at him. 

“Come on Jisung, I wanna show you something.” Changbin said to the prince, who shook himself out of his embarrassed state.

Jin looked quizzically at him, but didn’t say a word. Changbin walked over to the door, Jisung trailing after him like a lost puppy. 

Jin humphed when they exited the cockpit, turning around and opening up the ship’s data. It’d been a while since he’d done a complete overhaul and decided it was a good time for one. 

He’s loading up files, deleting some,and organizing folders, when he comes across a file in the deepest recesses of his program. Its a folder, titled ‘umuwzqma’. It’s heavily encrypted, and in such a strange place, Jin thinks he wasn’t supposed to find it in the first place. He stares at the folder, detecting large chunks of data in it. Who in their right mind would encrypt such large pieces of data like it was nuclear launch codes? 

Jin stood there, contemplating what to do with the folder, before deciding to decrypt it. It would take him awhile, no doubt, his processor was high level, but not that high level. Not like the processors that Galactic Union ship AI’s had. He could have the decryption running in the background, it would drain some energy from him, but it would be worth it when he found what was in the folder. 

For some reason, the folder seemed to be for him, whether it was a good thing, or bad thing, only time would tell. 

“What do you mean a bounty hunter has the crown prince??” A voice asked angrily, reverberating throughout the large hall. 

Two men, in gray uniforms stood across from a felinesqe alien. He had white-blond hair, and piercing bright blue eyes. His pupils, slitted made him seem even more upset with the news, narrowing at the two men in anger. 

The slightly taller one, suppressed the urge to sigh before he spoke. He had dark brown curly hair, and large eyes. There were dimples that were prominent at the corner of his frowning mouth, as he worded his next sentence carefully. 

“King Casfen,” He said stiffly, trying not to betray his annoyance, “We translated the signal that the ship left and believe it to be the one owned by the bounty hunter known as ‘Spear.B’, however, since we were contacted so late, we weren’t able to get a fix on his current path-”

King Casfen growled, spinning around and walking a little away from the pair. The shorter, blonde man looked at his superior, who had given up on keeping his expression blank. 

“I’m surprised you care this much, King Casfen, as Prince Jisung’s parents are besides themselves at the moment, their grief makes sense, but what about your’s? What does the prince mean to you?” The shorter one spoke, the brunette whispering harshly at the other in reprimand. 

He’s unbothered, a unconvinced look on his face when the king turns back around and proceeds to unveil his woes. 

“Of course I should be worried! He is to be my husband, it is what we have agreed upon,” King Casfen said.

“ _ Agreed upon my ass _ ,” The blonde said under his breath, earning a jab in the side from the brunette. 

“I see, well, the Galactic Union has sent one of its best crews in this sector to get the prince back,” The brunette explained, holding his ground as the King stalked closer until he was inches from the other’s face. 

“The Hermes better not disappoint, Captain.” Casfen hissed, ears curling back as he spoke. 

“We won’t,” The captain replied back darkly.

Jisung followed Changbin through the ship, all the way back to the storage room. Jisung stood at the doorway, watching as Changbin moved more boxes and placed them on one of the benches. He wasn’t quite sure what Changbin wanted to show him. What could be so important that Changbin wished to give it to him, whatever it was?

Changbin rummaged around in a couple of boxes, before procuring a small box, wooden box from the big black plastic ones. 

Standing there for a moment, Changbin slowly turned around and faced Jisung, holding out the small box. 

Jisung stared at the box, before taking it from Changbin’s hands. He carefully opens the box, and is surprised to see the contents of it. He looks up at Changbin, disbelievingly, before picking the item of the box. It is a Terrian stone, one native to his home planet. Terrian stones were common, found on beaches and forest floors, but were prized for the colours they emitted when in bright light. They were clear stones, much like diamonds, but harder and more sturdier. 

“ _ Where-? _ ” Jisung began, before stopping himself, knowing Changbin couldn’t understand himself, but was surprised when the other answered him. 

“It was a payment, for a bounty,” Changbin explained, scratching the back of his neck, “I knew it was pretty valuable, but couldn’t figure out how much it was worth. Jin did a scan on it and I just remembered about it a few moments ago, I hope it means much more to you than me.” 

Jisung smiled, a bright, happy thing, that momentarily stunned Changbin for a second. 

“ _ Thank you _ ,” Jisung said, putting the stone back into the box and clutching it to his chest. 

“You’re welcome,” Changbin said, slightly embarrassed by the attention Jisung was giving him. 

They stood in a companionable silence before Jin’s voice floated through the ship’s COMMs. 

“ _ T-minus 20 minutes to Safora, better get up here _ ,” He instructed, voice cracking through the COMM.

“Come on, we better get up there.”

Jisung nodded, watching as Changbin moved over to the door. 

“You coming?” Changbin asked, as Jisung stood there, looking down at the box in his hands. 

Jisung nodded again, before following Changbin back to the bridge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! I hope the next chapter will be up soon, maybe in a few weeks? This chapter is gonna be pretty big so expect a fun update when it comes! any who here's my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) and my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola) if you wanna stop by!
> 
> thanks again for reading, until next time! xo


	4. Phaser Fights Amongst Starlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, it me, finnoola here! here is the long awaited chapter four of milky way tears! A new character is introduced, can you guess who it is? ;)
> 
> thank you for those who have kudo-ed and commented on the fic! It gives me lots of strength to see that people that enjoy the fic! 
> 
> anyways, onto the fourth chapter, remember, kudos and comments are appreciated!

Changbin sat in the captain’s chair as they breached Safora’s atmosphere. Jisung sat in the navigator’s, watching both Jin and Changbin pilot the ship like it was apart of themselves. He looked out the windshield, watching as the ship breached the atmosphere, sparks of light flashing around the ship. 

Jisung sat back, letting himself feel the harsh vibrations and the shuddering of the metal underneath the pressure. They broke the atmosphere with a thump, suddenly weightless as they flew through the sky. Jisung looked at the blue sky, dotted with clouds as Changbin piloted the ship in a direction. 

“Which city are we hitting up, Changbin?” Jin asked from where he was stationed at the map, making minor changes to their course. 

“Halbrem, it's relatively small, and I doubt the guard will think to look there,” Changbin explained, steering the ship towards the city in question. 

Jisung stayed seated in the navigator’s chair, content to just watch the two in their natural habitats. It doesn’t take long for a city to come into view, Jisung sitting up in his seat a little, excitement brimming in his veins. 

“Welcome to Halbrem.” 

Changbin stares at Jisung from across the street as he waits for the alien vendor to see if he has the specific parts he needs. He watches as Jisung kneels before a gaggle of children. They speak to him, Jisung seemingly understanding them. Upon closer inspection, he realizes one child is Kalurian, and is acting as translator for the other children. They smile at the prince, before offering him small flowers. Jisung’s smile turns soft and sweet, gracefully accepting the little blossoms with a kind look in his eyes. 

“You his lover?”

Changbin startles, turning his head and eyeing the vendor with slight annoyance. 

“No, just a friend.” He mumbles, turning around fully and inspecting the parts the vendor has returned with. 

The vendor chuckles. “Doesn't seem like that from the way you look at him.”

Changbin looks up briefly at the vendor, before turning his head back to look at Jisung. 

“Is that so…?”

Jisung looks up from the bouquet of different flowers the children had given him, smiling at them warmly. 

“ _ Thank you _ ,” He says, bringing the flowers to his nose and sniffing the soft, sweet array of aromas. 

The Kalurian child giggles. “You’re welcome, your majesty!”

Jisung’s eyes widen, before he gently shushes the child. 

“It’s okay! We won’t tell anyone, promise!” The Kalurian child says with a determined expression. The other children nod rapidly, all voicing their assents. 

The Kalurian child looks at Jisung before speaking. 

“My papa told me you were getting married, but you ran away. My papa always says that you should marry someone you love, and that’s probably why you ran away.”

Jisung stared at the child, wonder held in his eyes. His eyes drift over to where Changbin is standing, talking to the street vendor. The group of children pick up on where Jisung is looking and smile at each other. 

“Do you love that guy, your majesty? Is that why you ran away?” A little Crystix girl says, her body practically sparkling in the light. 

Jisung whips his head back to the children, blushing furiously. He starts to shake his head rapidly, before another one of the children speaks up.

“But you look at him like my papa does to my da,” The boy says, before continuing, “He looks at da with the same sparkle in his eyes.”

Jisung blushed again, hiding his face in the bouquet. 

“ _ I don’t think I love him… _ ” Jisung whispers, a small warmth in his heart telling him otherwise. 

Thya kalurian child leans closer to him, looking at the others before speaking. 

“Maybe he’s what you went to look for when you ran away?” The child theorized, holding a spark of innocent hope that only children as young as they could have. 

Jisung looked up slowly, his brain working a mile a minute. He gave the child a smile and nodded softly. 

“ _ Maybe you’re right… _ ” 

Changbin huffed, picking up two of the parts on the table. 

“I’ll take these,” He said, holding up his wrist to make the needed transaction. 

The vendor nodded. “Alright then, 136 pulsars.” 

Changbin whistled. “That’s a steal, ain’t it?”

“Hey, gotta make a living, somehow.” The vendor replied to which Changbin chuckled. 

“You and me both.”

When the money went through, Changbin took the parts, giving the alien a little salute, before turning in Jisung’s direction. He smiled softly, watching as Jisung bid the children goodbye, carefully placing the flowers in the front pocket of his overalls. Jisung walked up to Changbin, a happy flush painted on his face. 

“You look like you’re in a good mood.” Changbin remarked, watching as Jisung flushed some more, looking down at his shoes and smiling demurely. 

Changbin chuckled, looking around the marketplace before a flash of silver caught his eye. 

“Fuck.” He swore, catching sight of a quartet of Kalurian guards pushing their way through the market square. 

Changbin grabbed Jisung’s hand, pulling him along in the opposite direction of the guards. Jisung makes the mistake of looking back, causing one of the guards to recognize him. 

_ “I found him! There!” _ The guard shouts. 

“Shit, let’s go!” Changbin yells back, starting to push through the crowd of the people faster. 

They finally make it through the crowd, spilling out into an empty street and breaking into a run. Jisung pants, trying to keep pace with Changbin, who clutches Jisung’s hand in his own. 

Suddenly, there’s a shot, and then some shouting. 

_ “You idiot, he has the prince! Aim carefully or don’t shoot at all!” _

Jisung gulped. He turned his head back, watching as two guards aimed their phasers at them. The other two kept pursuit of them, dodging passersby as they kept running. 

_ “Changbin…” _ Jisung said warningly.

“I know,” Changbin growled back, pushing Jisung forward. “Go! I’ll meet you back at the ship!”

Jisung stops, worry on his features and fear gripping his heart. 

_ “Changbin-”  _

“Go, Jisung!” Changbin barks, causing Jisung to stumble off in the direction of the ship. 

Changbin huffs, turning right at the last second and punching the incoming soldier in the face. The soldier stumbles back, the other one coming up and swinging his knife at Changbin, who dodges deftly. Changbin growls, punching the armed guard right in the face, and watching with satisfaction as he drops to the ground, nose crunching under his fist. He kicks the still conscious guard in the stomach, watching him stumble back before charging Changbin again. Changbin draws his knife, sidestepping him and jabbing it in his neck.

“Fucking dickheads,” Changbin muttered, sheathing his knife. 

A shot rings out, missing his feet by centimetres. Changbin looks up, seeing the other two guards now in range of him.

“Fuck.”

He takes off, hearing the last two yell, more shots whizzing by him. Changbin sprints, dodging pedestrians and stalls expertly. 

“Agh!” Changbin stumbles, a phaser shot hitting him in the side. 

He keeps pressing on, the ship coming into view. He can see Jisung, standing in the hangar, hand poised over the control panel. A sharp pain causes him to trip up a bit, hand coming to his phaser wound. He feels a piece of metal embedded in the burned flesh. He looks back briefly, noticing the phaser guns were now being replaced with guns. Changbin feels another one hit him in the shoulder, the pain shooting throughout his body. But he doesn’t stop, he wasn’t trained to stop. 

Changbin slides into the hangar, Jisung slamming his hand against the button. Ducking when more shots rang out. Changbin lands on his knees, panting, blood welling up and dripping down his side. Jisung rushed over to him once the hangar was closed, feeling the ship rumble to life as Jin took off. 

_ “You’re hurt-” _ Jisung whimpers, hands pressing against Changbin’s wound. 

He flinches back when Changbin shrugs him off, shakily standing. Jisung watches him, pain clenching at his heart as he sees him stumble off. Jisung follows after him, carefully watching him in case he falls but Changbin is resilient, one hand on his shoulder to staunch the bleeding. He feels sick, watching as blood drips behind him, leaving a coppery trail. 

When they enter the cockpit, Jin whirls around just as Changbin falls to his knees. 

“Changbin what the fuck-?” He rushes over, hands flitting about even though he can’t do anything. 

Jisung rushes over, coming to Changbin’s side once again. He has his hand posed for the other’s shoulder, watching as he takes ragged breaths before speaking. 

“Take us to Xalar, now Jin.” Changbin orders, left hand pressed against his side. 

His face scrunches up in pain, Jisung and Jin watching as Changbin’s fingers dug into the wound, looking for the bullet. 

“Changbin the fuck are you doing?! Stop, you’re gonna give yourself a hemorrhage!” Jin yells, eyes widening in horror as Chanbgin’s finger pulls the bullet out.

The bullet clatters to the floor, more blood splattering against the metal flooring. 

“Fucking Jesus Christ-” Jin swears, rushing to the control panel and prepping the warp speed. “Fuck the battery, we’re jumping now or you’re dying in this ship you son of a bitch!”

With a few quick calculations, Jin starts the countdown. “Hold on, it's about to get a little bumpy!”

It starts slow, and then it's like Jisung’s body is being stretched and pulled apart, before snapping back together. It's over in an instant. And soon, through the windshield, a sandy planet appears. Jin’s teeth clench together, the lights in the ship flickering for a moment before stopping. Jisung looks to his side, Changbin’s head hanging forward. 

_ “Changbin, are you okay?” _ Jisung asks, pushing his head up, heart clenching in horror as he sees his eyes roll back into his skull. 

_ “Jin…” _ Jisung calls out, looking over and seeing the other steer the ship through the atmosphere. 

The ship shakes and rumbles, Jisung ducking his head and holding onto Changbin’s half-conscious body. It bursts through the atmosphere, the ship stopping before zooming off. 

“It alright, Bin, we’re almost there, it’s gonna be okay.” Jin says, eyes frenzied as he pilots the ship himself. 

It’s with a rocky landing that the ship stops, Jin looking over at the pair once the ship powers down. 

“Jisung come here and take this!” Jin orders, watching as Jisung stumbles over to the console. “Here, press the button and take the drive that pops out.” 

Jiusng nods, following Jin’s directions. The large circular drive pops out, and a miniature hologram of Jin appears from the drive.

“Okay, place me in your front pocket, and let’s go, come on.” Jin says rushed, Jisung placing the drive into his front pocket and rushing back over to Changbin.

“Alright, Jisung, come on, you’re gonna have to carry most of his weight.” Jin watches as Jisung’s face turns incredulous. 

_ “W-what?! He’s like more than half my muscle mass!”  _ Jisung exclaims, hands flitting about Changbin’s shoulders. 

“’s fine,” Changbin slurred, pushing himself up onto his feet, despite Jin’s protests. “I can walk.”

Jisung watches in trepidation, rushing forward once Changbin stumbles a bit. He places a hand on his back, trying to haul the other up. 

“Changbin you’re going to injure yourself more, let Jisung help you walk!” Jin yells, watching helplessly from Jisung’s pocket. 

Jisung slings Changbin’s arm over his shoulder, grunting when he pulls the other up. 

_ “Come on Changbin, one step at a time,”  _ Jisung murmurs gently, watching as Changbin looks up at him. 

Changbin grunts, seeming to agree to Jisung and Jin. They stumble through the ship, taking the elevator instead of the ladders down to the hangar level. Jisung supports Changbin as best he can, but Changbin’s all muscle, and Jisung feels his strength slowly slipping away. They move slowly, Jin making careful watch of Changbin’s vitals. 

Jisung hits the button to open the hangar, leg shaking as the door slowly opens. It reveals to Jisung a small wooden cabin, amidst a dusty barren landscape. A few tufts of grass grow but they are more yellow and brown than green. There’s a bunch of metal junk strewn around the property, Jisung carefully watching his steps as they make it to the front door of the house. 

He huffs, kicking the door as Jin yells. 

“Minho? Please open up we have a problem….” He shouts, hoping the other hears him. 

A few second pass, thundering steps are heard and then the door is wrenched open to a dishevelled looking man. He has a pair of goggles atop his hand, a handkerchief wrapped around his neck. He’s clad in dusty overalls, big leather gloves adorning his hands. His mouth opens in shock when he sees them. 

“What the fuck-?” He swears cutting himself off and opening the door wider for them. “Come in, hurry, get him to the table.” 

He ushers them in, looking both ways outside before closing the door. Jisung pulls Changbin to the table, the other flopping unceremoniously onto it. The man, known as Minho, rushes over pulling on plastic gloves and bringing out a container of surgical tools. A medical mask is over his mouth now, and he pulls the screen closer to the table. It immediately lights up, showcasing Changbin’s vital signs, which are slowly plummeting. 

“Jin, I need you to do a full body scan on him, stat.” Minho instructs, leaning over Changbin’s body and cutting his shirt open. 

Jisung pulls the drive from his overall pocket, watching a blue light fall over Changbin’s body. Jin pops up after the light disappears, his face contorted in worry as Minho looks over Changbin’s wounds. 

“A fucking phaser wound and a bullet wound all in one, you’re fucking something else, aren’t ya?” Minho mutters, tweezers digging into the wound. 

He stops for a moment, looking confused at the scan of Changbin’s body on the monitor before looking at them.

“Where’s the bullet?” He asks, watching as Jisung smiles sheepishly, Jin scowling at Minho before responding. 

“He took it out himself, pretty sure the bullet in his left shoulder is still there, and the one his right thigh, is too.” Jin intoned, looking less worried than he was a few minutes prior, maybe because someone was actually operating on Changbin now. 

Minho sighs, sounding almost done with Changbin. It seemed like it wasn’t the first time Changbin had shown up at Minho’s door half-dead. Minho turns back to Changbin, moving over to his shoulder and plunging the tweezers into the bullet hole. Changbin jerks up from the table, Minho shushing him. 

“Oh hush, you’ve been in worse pain before,” He chides, tweezers poking around until he pulls it gently from the wound, a bullet clutched in its jaws. 

He sighs, before looking down at Changbin’s form and then back up at Jin and Jisung. 

“This is gonna take a while.”

The surgery takes at least three hours. Minho extracting the last bullet from Changbin’s thigh expertly and then methodically sewing up the wounds. He wraps them in gauze, and then proceeds to give Changbin some pain meds to knock him out for a few more hours. 

Jisung sits in another room, teeth biting at his fingers in worry. He looks around the room, eyes glancing over every mechanical invention and prosthetic he finds. His eyes stop on a very familiar prosthetic, his body moving on its own accord. He makes his way to the table, stopping in front of it. Hands reaching out he traces the lines and moving parts with curiosity, it's the same prosthetic Changbin has. Picking it up, he turns it in his hands, trying to discern its purpose when a voice startles him. 

“He’s gonna be fine, he's gonna be knocked out for a bit, but he’ll be fine.” Minho explains, Jisung turning around and seeing him leaning against the door frame. 

Jisung puts the prosthetic down, nodding slowly as he did so. He looks down at the prosthetic, thinking about Changbin. 

Minho watches, sighing before moving over to a shelf. 

“Jin told me about you, says you’re a prince, one that fled his own wedding. What? Was he that ugly?” Minho nattered on, cleaning up the workbench he was at. 

Minho turned around, noticing Jisung’s despondent look. His face turns comforting, leaning back against the workbench as he thought. 

“Come on, let’s get you something to eat and drink, yeah?” Minho said, watching as Jisung looked up sadly. 

“Come on,” Minho encouraged, waving his hand at the prince. “I promise it’s not as bad as Changbin’s cooking.”

Jisung’s face broke out in a little smile, Minho smiling back at him. Jisung followed after the other, past the room where Changbin laid, asleep, into the kitchen. He sat at the table, watching as Minho went over to the stove and turned it on. Jisung noticed Jin’s drive on the table, the light on the circular disk blinking slowly. 

“Warp took a toll on him, he’s probably recharging now, gonna have to take a look at the ship too, seems you came in rough when you were avoiding those guards.” Minho explained, Jisung brushing his fingertips against the tops of Jin’s drive. 

Jisung sat there mutely, until Minho looked over his shoulder from the counter. 

“You can talk,” He said, as he tapped the side of his head, “I’ll understand. Kinda need to in this business” 

Jisung noticed the black device in the other’s ear, which looked almost exactly like Changbin’s. 

_ “What do you do, anyways?”  _ He asked cautiously, as Minho went back to chopping up vegetables. 

Minho chuckled before answering.

“I’m a black market surgeon.” He explained, Jisung’s eyes widening at the answer. 

“Don’t worry,” Minho laughed, “I did go to medical school, passed all my exams.”

Jisung exhaled in relief, much to Minho’s amusement. At that moment, Jisung felt something brush up against his legs, jumping a little, he looked down and saw two yellow-green eyes staring back at him. It was a cat. Jisung’s mouth opened in surprise, hand coming down to pet the animal. It made a trilling sound, much to his amusement, before hopping up onto the table. 

“Never seen a cat before?” Minho inquired, watching from where he was standing at the stove as he stirred whatever was in the pot. 

_ “I’ve seen pictures, but never one in real life.” _ Jisung said, watching as the cat bumped his head against Jisung’s hand. 

He giggled, hands smoothing down the cats back and watching as it flopped over. Soon, two more cats waltzed into the kitchen, one hopping onto the counter where Minho was working, the other winding between Jisung’s legs underneath the table. 

“Doongi,” Minho scolded, pushing the cat’s head back gently, as he cooked, “Get down, this isn’t for you, you just ate.”

Jisung giggled, still petting the cat laid out on the table, as Minho deposited the other one onto the floor. 

“I love them, but they’re little rascals.” Minho chuckled, staring fondly down at Doongi. 

Jisung smiled, feeling the third cat’s head leaning against his foot. Minho returned back to cooking, Jisung contently petting the cat. The sounds of crackling and sizzling filled the room, as Minho scurried around. Jisung watches, trying to figure out what Minho was making. 

He returns back to the cat, which is purring at his touch. The cat rolls over onto his back, stomach bared as Jisung coos at it. 

_ “How’d you meet Changbin?”  _ Jisung asks, tapping the bottom of the cat’s paws with his fingers. 

Minho smiled, shaking his as he remembered. 

“He was 15, had been saving up for repairs for the exospine, that prosthetic you were looking at earlier. Changbin looked like he’d been put through the ringer, all dirty and bloodied. He had more scars than I’d seen any decorated bounty hunter have at any age,” Minho sighed, turning off the burners and heading to the cabinets, “I did it for him for free. A previous client of mine had run off without paying me, so I asked him for a favour. Not even two days later he was at my door, a punch filled with more than the needed amount and more cuts and bruises than before.” 

Jisung watched as Minho plated the food, walking over to the table and shooing one of the cats to the side. The cat moved over begrudgingly, perking up when Minho placed a steaming hot plate of food in front of Jisung. Minho pushed the cat back a bit, scolding him before sitting across from Jisung with his own plate. 

“After that, I was his go-to for any medical procedures. He was always showing up at my door though, every so often, half-dead.” Minho stared at his food, a fork held in his hand. “It was like he was trying to kill himself, without having to do it himself, like he wasn’t even worthy of having that one saving grace.”

Minho smiled sadly at Jisung. “Jisung, take care of him, will you? I think it’s been awhile since someone has cared for him.” 

Jisung started a Minho, before nodding slowly. Minho smiled at Jisung before looking down at his plate. 

“Alright, let’s dig in!”

Changbin awoke to his whole body aching. He groaned, slowly rising up from the cot he was lying on. He moved himself into a sitting position, noticing the bandages wrapped around his shoulder and side. There was a patch of gauze pressed against his thigh, a hole cut from his pants to make room for it. 

He looked around the room, eyes stopping on Jisung who was curled on on the worn couch opposite him. Minho’s cats were all curled up with the boy, all snoring softly with him. Doongi was on his chest, Sooni and Dori curled up by his feet. Changbin let a small smile fall across his face as he looked at Jisung. 

“He’s been by your side since after the surgery.” 

Changbin lifted his head to see Minho standing in the doorway to the kitchen. 

“How long was I out for?” He croaked, watching Minho walk over to the monitor and type a few things in. 

“A couple days,” Minho said, watching as Changbin looked at him incredulously. 

Minho laughed, “Nah, it’s only been five hours. Surprised you were knocked out that long, thought you’d be out the door not even two hours after the surgery.” 

Changbin hummed, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning over to grab his shoes. 

“You’ve changed.” 

Changbin looks up from lacing his boots. He leans back, fixing Minho with a strange look. 

“How so?” He asked, pinning Minho with a curious look. Minho laughed, before turning serious. 

“You used to not care about how you would finally die, you’d take so many risks and would constantly end up here one way or another with bruises and cuts, so detached from life, it was as if you were waiting for yourself to do you in, not anyone else.”

Changbin just stared at him. “What about now?” 

“Now?” Minho chuckled, a small smirk on his face. “I think you have something you would  _ live _ for.”

Changbin chuckles at his words, shaking his head as he returned to lacing up his boots. Minho looks away from the monitor, as he types. 

“Changbin, I’m serious,” Minho says, pinning Changbin with a sincere look, “That boy isn’t just something to you, he’s becoming _ someone _ . You can't pretend it isn't happening either.” 

Changbin stands up, back to Minho as he reaches for a clean shirt spread on the back of a chair. 

“Yes, I can.” Changbin said, pulling the shirt over his torso with a groan. 

Minho stood there, rolling his eyes. “You think this tough guy facade, bounty hunter credo is going to shield you from having emotions, Changbin, it's not. You’re human.”

Changbin turned to Minho, a dark look on his face. “I haven’t been human in years, Minho.” 

With those last words Changbin exited the room and went out the front door. Minho sighed, running his hands through his hair tiredly. 

“Kids, what’re you gonna do with them?” He sighed. 

When morning comes, Minho is in his workshop, now fixing Changbin’s TransCOMM which is embedded in the side of his NOVA suit helmet. He pulls the fried device from the helmet, swearing as he assesses the damage. 

“Well, that's busted.” He mutters, throwing the broken thing behind him. He hears a clunk, and then an annoyed voice. 

“Can you not?” Jin snarks, from where he’s sitting on a table, hooked up to another monitor. 

Minho smiles, as he picks up a part that Changbin had gotten for him to repair his helmet. 

“Awake, now, are we?” Minho chirps, cleaning the pocket where the TransCOMM would go. 

Jin makes an annoyed sound, his holographic form looking about the tangle of wires he was in. 

“The fuck are you doing?” He asks, looking at what he was plugged into. 

Some program was running across the screen, and Jin stared in confusion at the unfamiliar code. Minho smiled, even though Jin couldn’t see him. 

“Making something for you,” He says cryptically, opening one of the workbench drawers and producing a new TransCOMM. 

“It’ll make life,” He paused, tongue sticking out as he dropped the TransCOMM into the slot of the helmet, “a little, easier for you.”

Jin raised his eyes, giving the other an unconvinced look. 

“Uh-huh,” He hums, looking away from the program and about the room. “Where’s Changbin?”

“Changbin? Oh, he’s probably in the ship, been there since he woke up last night, think I pissed him off too,” Minho said nonchalantly. 

Jin looked at him, exasperated. “What’d you say this time?”

Minho focused on the helmet, plugging it into the monitor beside him and running diagnostics on it. 

“I insinuated he had feelings, and I guess he didn’t like that too much.”

Jin snorted before responding, “So you noticed too?” 

Minho chuckled, looking over the monitor once before unplugging the helmet. 

He looked over his shoulder at Jin and smiled, “A Clatharin could even see it.”

Jin snorted again, arms crossed over his chest, before he noticed a missing presence. 

“Where’s Jisung?” He asked, a light edge to his voice.

“Calm down, he’s in the living room with the cats, he’s perfectly fine.” Minho placated, Jin’s shoulders relaxing as he heard Minho’s words. 

“He better be, or I swear I’ll scramble whatever program you’re running on me,” He threatened harmlessly, Minho just laughing at him. 

“You wouldn’t do that,” Minhos said, as he placed the helmet down on the table. “You’re curious about what I’m doing with that, oh, and also if you were to disconnect right now, you’d lose the progress you have on that folder you’re decrypting.”

Jin stiffened. “You fucking asshole-”

“What is that folder, anyway?” Minho asked, turning around in his chair and pinning the other with a curious glare. 

Jin huffed, before he answered. “I don’t know, I just found it a day ago, not sure how it could’ve evaded my programming before, but it was there.”

Minho hummed, seemingly deep in thought before he turned around and continued to work on the battle-scarred parts of Changbin’s NOVA suit. 

“Maybe, someone didn't want you to find it?” Minho said, not aware of the sudden turmoil on Jin’s face as Minho rambled. “I don't know, man, maybe you’re overthinking it.” 

Jin nodded slowly, not convinced by Minho’s words. 

“Yeah, maybe you’re right…” He said, trailing off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading, things are about to get more heated soon, and more new characters will be introduced next chapter! maybe the two galactic union members I referenced in chap 3? 
> 
> If you have questions, or just wanna say hi, stop by my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) or drop into my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola)! 
> 
> have a good day, evening or night! xo


	5. Double Asteroids Amid a Sea of Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo, it me, finnoola here! welcome to chapter 5 of milky way tears! as i write this, i am currently working on the chapter 6 & 7, where pasts are revealed, and relationships tested! you might get a quick update depending on how good I am at fitting these scenes for chapter 6 together. 
> 
> anyways, onto the new chapter, kudos and comments are appreciated!

Minho hums, as he pokes at the prosthetic on Changbin’s back. He tightens a couple of screws, replaces a few links, and runs a check on the internal wiring. Changbin sits there, staring at his hands as Minho worked. 

Suddenly, a small mechanical device appeared before his eyes. He looked up, Minho standing there with the device in his hands. He gave Changbin a sigh before speaking. 

“New TransCOMM,” He explained, tapping the side causing it to light up, “The old one was too busted to repair, so I made you a new one from scratch.”

Changbin looked at Minho, before taking the device and popping it into his ear. Minho watched Changbin with his arms crossed, the computer beeping in the background as it checked Changbin’s hardware. With a sigh Minho walked away and to the monitor, typing at the keyboard. With a click, the wire unattached itself from Changbin’s prosthetic spine. Changbin stretched his arms, sitting up and grabbing his shirt from the chair next to him. 

“I take it you repaired the ship? The warp core was pretty busted when I looked at it, you’re lucky I had the parts to fix it too,” Minho said, as he closed the program on his computer, and unplugged Jin’s AI drive from the tangle of wires. 

Changbin grunted, taking the offered drive from Minho’s hand. He placed the device in his pants pocket. Minho shook his head, watching as Changbin continued to ignore him. 

“Okay, now you’re just acting like a child,” Minho says exasperated, giving Changbin an unimpressed look. 

Changbin stopped from buckling his gadget belt and gave Minho a tired look. 

“Let’s say I did, stop, running from my emotions, what good would that do for Jisung in the long run?” Changbin said, looking down at his hands. “He’s a prince, he’ll be hunted for the rest of his life by Golxias, not able to settle down and just, live.” 

Minho looked sadly at Changbin, empathizing with the bounty hunter. 

“But I’m a bounty hunter,” Changbin scoffed, looking at Minho with dark eyes, “We never live good lives, and that’s not what he needs.” 

A heavy silence hung over them, blanketing them in a dark haze. Minho finally spoke up. 

“But, you haven’t asked him what he _wants_ ,” Minho said, looking up and giving Changbin a hopeful look. 

_“Minho, have you seen Dori? I can’t find her,”_ Jisung’s voice rang out, breaking them out of their stare down. 

Minho turned and smiled when he saw Jisung standing in the doorway to his workshop, Soongi in his arms. The cat was curled contentedly in the prince’s arms, a faint purring noise heard from the small animal.

“She’s probably outside somewhere, sleeping in the tall grass under the sun, check there.” Minho said, watching as Jisung smiled back. 

Jisung blushed, a small smile on his face when he spotted Changbin behind him. 

_“Good morning, Changbin,”_ Jisung greeted softly, pretty blue eyes glinting happily when he saw the other standing, _“You look much better than you did yesterday, I’m glad.”_

Changbin coughed, nodding his head at Jisung’s words.

“Minho did a good job,” He said as a way of explanation, Jisung’s eyes lighting up at his words. 

_“You can understand me now?”_ Jisung exclaimed brightly, lips stretching out into a blinding smile as Changbin looked away. 

Minho watched their interaction with unexplained glee, smiling mirthfully as Changbin tried to act as he usually did, cold and aloof. 

“Yeah, new TransCOMM,” He grumbled, sliding his knife into its sheath and checking his belt. “Better than having Jin translate everything you say, he’s not exactly trustworthy.”

Jisung giggled at Changbin’s words, before turning to Minho.

 _“I’m going to look for Dori,”_ He said, grinning shyly at Changbin before leaving. 

Minho turned to Changbin with a Cheshire grin stretched across his lips. Changbin looked up, one eyebrow raised. 

“What?” He asks gruffly, walking over to the bench and picking up his phaser. 

“Oh, he so likes you,” Minho crowed, arms crossed as he leaned against his workbench. 

“No, he doesn’t,” Changbin retorts, strapping the phaser to his hip and walking towards the door. 

“Oh, yes he does, Changbin,” Minho called after him, watching as Changbin exited the house and went outside. 

Changbin sighed heavily, the bright sunlight shining down on him as the door closed on Minho’s gleeful teasing. He looked around the front yard of Minho’s home, the tall grass yellow and withered, a few overgrown bushes scattered about. In the far off distance, the desert stretched on. Changbin looked away, the sight making him sick to his stomach. He never did like deserts. 

He notices Jisung crouched in the grass, waving a long strand of what looked like yellow wheat around as the cats jumped after it. Jisung giggled, watching the animals happily as they pounced and chased. Changbin let a small smile cross his face, before he walked towards the ship. 

He opened the hangar, ducking into the cool shade and heading to the engine core. Through tight crawl spaces and corridors, Changbin made it to the core. He was mostly done with the core, he just needed Jin to do checks on it in the cockpit. He tapped on the screen on the computer hooked up to the core, running a few quick diagnostics, before leaving the small room. 

He made his way to the cockpit, letting the door open with a small ‘fssh’. He stepped into the room, heading straight for the AI panel. He took Jin’s drive out of his pocket, depositing it in the slot. The cover slid over, and soon Jin popped up to life, standing right beside him. 

“Did you fix the core?” Jin asked, already running programs and diagnostics on the ship. 

Changbin nodded, sitting in the captain’s chair. He leaned his head back, his wounds still pulling at his skin. 

“Didn’t know Kalurians used guns,” Changbin said, hand unconsciously resting on his side. 

“Didn’t know you had a death wish,” Jin shot back, his back to the other as he ran through the ship’s program. 

Changbin lifted his head up, staring at the back of Jin’s head. 

“I’m fine, it happens all the time, you know that,” Changbin said unconcerned. 

Jin’s shoulders tensed, before he whirled around and pinned Changbin with a furious glare. 

“You almost _died_ yesterday, Bin,” Jin hissed, the normally blue hologram taking on a reddish-tint. “Right in front of me and Jisung, like you didn’t even care about us.” 

Changbin rose from his chair, walking right up to the hologram and glared at him. 

“But I didn’t, die I mean,” Changbin said evenly, a cold edge to his voice.

Jin huffed, looking away and walking to the map. 

“The program will be done in an hour.” Jin said monotonously, hands moving around on the screen. “Go entertain yourself somewhere else, I don’t wanna look at your stupid face right now.” 

Changbin huffed, turning around and walking out the cockpit door. When the door closed behind Changbin, Jin opened up the decryption he was working on. The file read 76% done. 

Jin squinted at the locked folder. “What are you hiding, Seo Changbin?” 

An hour later, Minho stood outside his house, all three of his cats sitting around him as Changbin and Jisung stood across from him. Jisung kneeled, petting the three cats one last time as Minho looked down fondly. 

_“Be good, okay?”_ Jisung coos, smiling when the cats trilled, rubbing their heads against Jisung’s legs. 

Jisung laughed, standing up and smiling warmly at Minho.

 _“Thank you, Minho,”_ Jisung says, watching as Minho shakes his head in response 

“No need to thank me, Jisung, I’m happy to help,” Minho said, looking at the pair, “I hope I’ll see you soon, alright?” 

Jisung’s smile widened, nodding his head happily at Minho’s words. Minho looked at Changbin, walking over to the other. 

“Remember what I said,” Minho murmured to him, eyes searching his face, “Think about it, alright?”

Changbin sighed, before nodding his head, causing Minho to softly smile. 

Minho stepped back, a grin on his face, as Jisung and Changbin entered the ship.

“Stay safe, I want you back here because you came to visit, alright?” Minho called, watching as the hangar door closed on Jisung waving, Changbin staring stoically at him. 

He stood there, watching the ship lift off, a smile on his face as it rose into the sky. When he could no longer see the Black Hawk anymore, he looked down at his cats, smiling sadly. 

“Guess, it's just us four, now, huh?” 

Jisung hummed, kicking his feet as the ship broke through the planet’s atmosphere. He already missed the comforting presence of Minho’s cats. His lips protruded in a pout, as he thought about how they’d cuddle up to him while he was there. It was awfully quiet in the cockpit, Changbin in the captain's chair as he navigated the ship onto its course. Jin was at the holo map, busying himself with the route they would now be taking since they had made it to their previous destination.

Jisung looked between the two, noticing how tense the both of them were. He frowned, not liking how they were ignoring one another. He sat there, thinking of what to say to lighten the mood when Jin spoke up. 

“Are we seriously going there, with Jisung?” Jin said, voice clipped. 

Jisung looked back at Jin, who was sporting a grim look. He looked most unimpressed, as Changbin sighed from where he sat at the controls. 

“Unless you have a better suggestion, yes, that’s where we’re going.” Changbin said, voice rough as he tried to remain calm. 

Jin scoffed at the other’s words but still inputted the coordinates into the computer. Jisung bit his lip, a little anxious with the two’s behaviour. 

_“Where are we going?”_ Jisung asked softly, not wanting to cause a fight. 

Jin sighed, looking at Jisung kindly. 

“We’re going to Kilgar, more importantly, Blaskin, a bounty hunter city.” Jin explained, before he sneered at Changbin. “Apparently, Changbin thinks it's a good idea, considering the circumstances we’re in.” 

Changbin’s shoulders tensed as he spoke. “You wanna choose the place next time, Jin, because I'll gladly let you.”

Jin stared at Changbin. “It’s fine, let’s just walk into impending doom,”

There was a loud noise, causing Jisung to jump as his head snapped over to Changbin who rose from his chair. He glared at Jin before turning and walking to the door.

“Tell me when we get there,” He said, voice bordering aggressive as he passed through the cockpit door. 

Jin didn’t even look up from the map as Changbin left. Jisung sat there, a little stunned before Jin spoke. 

“I’m going to check on the ship, feel free to play around with the database, Jisung,” Jin said, before blinking out of existence. 

Jisung’s mouth opened, before closing. He looked around the empty cockpit, eyes landing on the database computer with a sigh. He guess a little music wouldn’t hurt. 

Jisung fell asleep while listening to a playlist he had selected. He was curled up in the navigator’s chair when Changbin walked in. Changbin looked around the room, eyes falling on the navigator’s chair where Jisung quietly slept. He walked over to the other, careful not to wake him. 

He sighed, looking down at the other. Changbin struggled internally with himself before speaking softly. 

“When are you going to learn it’s not good for you to sleep there?” He whispered, brushing Jisung’s hair off his forehead. 

Gently, as to not disturb the other, Changbin picked the other up, carefully balancing him in his arms. He walked out of the cockpit, carrying the prince all the way to his room. He placed the other softly on to his bed, taking the messy covers and trailing them over Jisung’s form. 

He looked down, a gentle smile on his face as he watched Jisung nuzzle his head into the pillow, a soft sigh releasing itself from his lips. Changbin looked at him one last time, before leaving.

He walked down the cold, empty hallways, mind free to wander now that he was alone. Memories blinked in and out of his head, some happy, some not, until the same one kept repeating itself. He growled, stopping in the middle of the hallway. The same image etched into his brain, forever imprinted into the dark matter there. Changbin could never escape it, not that he wanted to. He had to be punished, somehow. So if he was cursed to forever remember that haunting day in great clarity, so be it. 

After a few moments, the image slowly disintegrated from the forefront of his mind, and Changbin continued on down the hallway. He climbed down to the second level, and headed straight for the third door on the right.

He sighed when it opened, his NOVA suit neatly put away in the corner of the room. When he entered the room it lit up, revealing a mess of artillery and machines. Changbin went over to the monitor in the middle, typing in a password as it opened. 

This was the room where Changbin did all his bounty hunting from. Preliminary checks, client info, target info, the secret database and channels only privy to bounty hunters was connected to this computer. All the information you needed to access the black market of the entire universe, was here. Changbin looked to see if he had gotten any requests to do jobs, but frowned when he was met with nothing. He shouldn’t have been surprised, everyone probably knew that he was a wanted man. 

Not that he wasn’t before. He was a highly acclaimed bounty hunter, an infamous one, to be exact. He was even wanted by the Galactic Union, how prestigious. Changbin didn’t care much for that, his eyes drifting over to the listings page and clicking on it. 

He chuckles, when he sees a bounty for him. But it's not taken. He checks to see who had put in the request, and finds that his brothers and sisters had not taken lightly at the jab at him. Changbin feels slightly warmed, that his comrades think so highly of him, and laughs when he sees a few that don’t. 

The one who had put in the request, has named a 6,000,000 million pulsar bounty on him. He scoffs, wondering who exactly in their right minds would put that much money on him. The sender, only known by the alias GKC, says that anyone who takes this bounty, would not only receive money, but prestige and fame. 

He laughs, shaking his head as he exits out of the request

“Whoever you are, I don’t think you understand that I’m not even worth that much money,” He says ruefully, eyes scanning over the screen, “Hell, I’m not worth anything at all.” 

Jisung awakes, pleasantly rested in a bed that’s not his own. He blinks the sleep from his eyes, sitting up and taking in the room. He’s in Changbin’s room, sleeping in his bed. Jisung yawns, looking around before noticing something strange on the wall by the window. 

He gets up, walking closer as his eyes narrow. He touches the wall, noticing how melted and burned it was. It was like there were shallow holes in the wall, much like something had been shot at it. 

Jisung furrows his eyebrows, mind drifting to Changbin’s NOVA suit when the COMM beside the door beeps.

“ _Hey Jisung, we’re right above Kilgar, come down when you’re ready._ ” Jin’s voice floats through the COMM. 

_“Okay, be right there.”_ Jisung’s calls over his shoulder, hand still resting over the melted parts of the wall. 

“ _Alright then,_ ” Jin says, before cutting out. 

Jisung frowns, looking at the wall before backing up. He stares at it for a second, before turning round and leaving the room. 

The air is still when he enters the cockpit, both Jin and Changbin on opposite sides of the room. Jisung walks in slowly, making his way over to the navigator’s chair. He sits down, glancing to the side at Changbin who pilots the ship with ease. 

He looks tense, shoulders squared and jaw set. Jin is blatantly glaring at Changbin, and Jisung isn’t sure if he should laugh, or be concerned. He eases back into the chair hoping that the two who make up soon. 

Breaking through the atmosphere is routine now, and Jisung sits up when he sees a giant sprawling city as they get closer to the ground. It’s quite metallic and bright, the buildings pristine and silver. It's quite odd, for a city that caters to bounty hunters, to be so, beautiful. 

“Lots of wealthy aristocrats from different races live here, they run the city, and rely on bounty hunters to wipe out their competition.” Jin explains, noticing Jisung’s confusion. “It's why it looks so nice, it's basically a front to everyone else, except for bounty hunters and clientele.” 

Jisung nods, amazed at how the bounty hunters had created such an intricate structure for themselves. He looks over the city, the towering buildings now rising high beside them as they entered the city’s airspace. 

“Of course, we’re going into the more seedy parts of the city, the underbelly, where all the bounty hunters hang out.” Jin said, watching as a nervous expression came over Jisung’s face.

“Don’t worry, there’s no bounty out for you, the only ones chasing us are Kalurian and Golxian guard ships. Bounty hunters could care less about the recapture of the fleeing groom.” Changbin said, gruffly reassuring Jisung who let out a breathy exhale at his words. “All we’re here for is to gather information. Jin, you’ll stay here and guard the ship in the docks, I’ll take Jisung with me.”

“You’re taking Jisung, with you, into the bounty hunter’s nest, where he could be recognized by a malicious bounty hunter, who do exist, mind you, where he could be taken and you killed in the process?” Jin said, clearly unimpressed by Changbin’s logic. “Wow, this is a new level of dumbass even for you.” 

Changbin hung his head, exhausted by Jin’s tirade. He looked over Jin, exasperated. 

“Do you have a better idea?” Changbin asked, fatigue laced in his voice. 

Jin shrugged before speaking. “Nope. You do you, I guess.” 

Changbin rolled his eyes, manoeuvring the ship into one of the outdoor docks. He let go of the controls, letting the autopilot dock the ship for him. He got up from his chair, waving Jisung over to him. 

Jisung got up, unbuckling his seat belt and walking over to Changbin. A hat was plunked on top of his head, and then a scarf was then tightly wrapped around his lower face. He squirmed, batting at Changbin’s hands. Changbin raised his eyebrows before backing off. 

_“What’s this for?”_ He managed to huff out when he got the offending fabric away from his mouth. 

“So you don’t get recognized,” Changbin explained, picking up the same black backpack that he used during their trip to Figar. 

Jin snorted, clapping his hands. “Great, now he has a 56% chance of not getting captured.” 

Changbin made a face at the other, before heading out of the cockpit.

“Just watch the ship, Jin.” Changbin called behind him. 

Jisung stood there, adjusting the scarf so that it hid his face but didn’t look suspicious. Jin stood in front of the controls, screen lit up as he worked on docking the ship with the autopilot. 

Just as Jisung was leaving, Jin spoke up.

“You actually have a 95% chance of staying alive, if you’re with Changbin,” Jin said quietly, not looking at Jisung. 

Jisung smiled, before turning around and leaving. 

On the ground where he could be in the midst of notorious bounty hunters, Jisung’s palms started to sweat and his heartbeat was frantic. Changbin stood right beside him, hand on his lower back as he guided him through the dirty streets. The street they were on was much darker and filthier, the buildings smaller and made of lesser materials. 

“This is the black market of Blaskin,” Changbin murmured to Jisung, who glanced at the other beside him. “Stay close and you’ll be fine.”

Jisung nodded, not trusting his voice to work. They carefully made their way to a damp and decrepit building. Changbin looked back and forth, before opening the door and letting both of them in. Jisung was immediately barraged with the sounds of talking and laughter, music and noise. 

Changbin grabbed his elbow, guiding him to the counter in the back of the dark establishment. There were many different species in the bar, Jisung’s eyes trying to figure out each and every one. He even spotted some humans in their midst. 

“Don’t stare,” Changbin whispered into his ear, causing a shiver to crawl up Jisung’s spine, “Most take it the wrong way.” 

Jisung nodded, averting his eyes quickly and looking straight ahead. When they made it to the counter, a catlike woman lifted her head up from where she was washing glasses.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Spear.B,” The woman said, a light accent coating her voice, “What brings you here in so long?”

Changbin leaned forward on the counter, Jisung awkwardly standing next to him. 

“I need some information, Castra,” Changbin said, watching as the woman’s cat eyes lit up. 

“Oh, I see, bet it has something to do with the pretty boy you’re towing along with ya, am I right?” Castra, as she was called, said with a sly smile.

Her canines glinted in the low light. Two triangle ears sat atop her head, and Jisung could faintly see a tail move behind her.

Changbin sighed, “I need any known routes for Galactic Union vessels in this sector, along with any info about Kalurian and Golxian guard ships being in the immediate area.” 

Castra hummed, wiping off a glass before setting it down. 

“There’s been talk of a Galactic Union ship hovering around this sector, one of the big league ones, the Hermes,” She told him, whispering the last part, “Bet they’re looking for you here, though if they walked in with their uniforms they’d stick out like sore thumb.” 

Changbin nodded, looking over his shoulder and surveying the bar. No one stuck out, not immediately to him, yet. He looked back at Castra, who continued to speak. 

“As for Kalurian and Golxian guard ships? They haven’t made it this far, as far as I know.” 

She wiped at the counter, looking around the bar before she spoke. 

“I’d be careful, B,” She murmured, fixing him with a concerned look, “The Golxians are ordered to shoot to kill if they see you.” 

Changbin let a smile cross over his face, before leaning back. 

“Not if I see them first,” He quipped, watching as an easy smile came over her face. 

He looked to his side, Jisung, quietly listening, hand clutching at the back of his shirt. His blue eyes quivered, clearly worried for him. 

“Hey,” He said softly, touching his arm. “We’re gonna be fine, okay?” 

Jisung looked at him, exhaling heavily before nodding. 

_“I trust you, Changbin.''_ Jisung said, a smile clearly crossing his lips underneath the scarf.

Changbin felt his heart clench at his words, before he shook the feeling off. He looked back at Castra who smiled at him. 

“You’ve changed, B,” She says, but it’s not biting, it's happy. “Stay safe, alright?”

Changbin nodded, guiding Jisung back through the bar. When they exited, Changbin took a quick look over their surroundings, sighing in relief when he didn’t notice anything unusual. He tugged Jisung in a direction the other following him. 

“We’ll go gather some supplies,” Changbin says, looking around coolly, “Then we’ll head back, we don’t need to stay here any longer than we need to-”

Changbin feels a hard hit to the back of his neck causing him to fall forward. Jisung yelps, wretched from Changbin’s grip. 

He looks up, seeing a Golxian holding onto Jisung who struggled. Changbin snarled, before he was kicked in the side. Laid out on his back he saw two Kalurian guards staring right back at him. 

“Ah, fuck, you’re working together now,” He choked out, rolling over as the Kalurian tried to stomp his head in. 

He made it to his feet, dodging a hit from the one guard, but was kicked in the stomach by the other. Changbin coughed, trying to regain his bearings. He could hear Jisung struggling in the hold of the Golxian. He looked up, seeing Jisung being pulled away by a Kalurian guard and a Golxian one. His blood boiled, as Jisung was struck across the face, the Golxian guard shouting at him. 

With a snarl he launched himself at the guards, who shouted in surprise. He unsheathed his knife, stabbing the one guard deftly in the stomach and then the neck. Shimmering red blood flew through the air and painted the blade of his knife. He whirled around and dodged the last guard growling, as he tried to grab his phaser. Changbin was too quick for him, slicing across his face, before jabbing the blade right through his heart. 

He turned, eyes frantically looking for Jisung. He was nowhere to be seen, panic welling up in his chest. Suddenly, he heard Jisung’s timid voice. He bolted down the street, the other bounty hunters moving out if his way. He stopped, trying to figure out where Jisung was when he spotted something glimmering on the floor. 

It was Kalurian blood.

Changbin’s heart dropped to his stomach, before he raced down the alleyway. 

Jisung stood there perfectly fine, his whole body trembling as he watched a brown haired man shoot the Golxian guard in the head. The man lowered his weapon, before he noticed Changbin. He went to raise his gun again. But Changbin was quicker. 

He didn’t even go for the man, pushing past the other and wrapping Jisung in his arms. Jisung quaked, holding onto Changbin like he was a life preserve. The prince buried his face in the other’s neck, soft whimpers echoing in his throat.

Changbin squeezed, petting gently at his back. 

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Changbin murmured, gently rocking Jisung back in forth in his arms. 

The brown haired man watched them, eyes calculating. He put his gun back, gears whirring in his head.

Changbin softly pulled back, Jisung looking at Changbin. His eyes weren’t even wet, more shocked than anything. Changbin cupped Jisung’s face in his hands, staring right into those shaking blue orbs. 

“You’re fine, I’m fine, okay?” He said, watching as Jisung nodded his head. 

Jisung looked behind him, towards the brown hair man who stood watching them, a glint in his eyes.

Changbin turned, finally acknowledging him. Changbin walked up to the other, right until they were centimetres from one another. Changbin looked him up and down, eyes catching on the phaser strapped to his side, and the gun in his coat. 

He looked back up, speaking slowly. 

“Nice gun,” Changbin commented, watching as the other looked down at it before replying. 

“Thank you, its regulation,” He said back, Changbin’s lips quirking up at the corners.

“I know,” He replied, watching as the other’s eyes darkened. 

Suddenly a voice ripped them out of their showdown. 

“Captain!” A velvet voice called, another young man turning the corner with a slight huff in his breath.

A blond Kalurian rounded the corner, with bright green eyes. He stopped when he saw Changbin and the man staring at each other. 

The blonde looked between them, before his eyes caught sight of the person behind them. 

_“Jisung! Oh thank heavens it's you!”_ The boy cheered, racing past the stunned pair who watched as Jisung smiled, shocked as he saw the blonde.

 _“Felix!”_ He shouted, wrapping the other into a hug as he barrelled into him.

They spun in circles, the two happy to see each other after so long. They pulled apart, Felix fixing Jisung with stern look, suddenly. 

_“Are you crazy? Trying to escape your wedding, and then getting kidnapped no less?”_ He scolded the other, who shrunk back at the words. 

Jisung frowned, before correcting the other on one thing.

 _“Kidnapped? Who said that? Changbin helped me.”_ Jisung said, positively confused by his friends words. 

Felix spluttered, looking between Changbin and Jisung. Changbin spoke up, clearing up Jisung’s confusion. 

“Of course they think I kidnapped you, Jisung, I’m a bounty hunter.” He said with a sigh, watching as Jisung’s face scrunched up in offence. 

_“Doesn’t mean you’re gonna kidnap me,”_ He said a little offended, watching as a smile crossed over Changbin’s face. 

Felix watched them, completely confused by the sudden turn of events until a voice spoke up. 

“First Officer Lee, I don’t think you have to worry about anything, it seems there was a misunderstanding,” The brown haired man said, looking at Changbin with a sly smile. 

Changbin glared at the other man, while Felix looked at the brunette, before turning to Jisung. 

_“It’s true? You're not in trouble?”_ Felix spoke, watching as Jisung nodded his head.

Felix let out a relieved noise, before turning to the other man with a glare.

“I told you King Casfen was pulling our legs,” Felix said, hands on his hips as he spoke, “But noooo, you wanted to play it by the book, as always.” 

The brunette had the decency to look a little ashamed, but covered it up by acting exasperated. 

“Officer Lee, it was protocol! What was I supposed to do, tell Admiral Han no? Are you crazy? She’d gut me like a fish in front of the whole ship!” He said watching as Felix rolled his eyes.

“Oh, woah is me,” Felix said, feigning distress before fixing the other with a disappointed glare, “The most revered captain in the galaxy, no, the _universe,_ and you can’t stand up for yourself? I’m ashamed, Captain Bang Chan.” 

Chan, as he was now known as, sputtered at the other’s words. Changbin huffed out a laugh before speaking. 

“You really gonna let your first officer drag you like that?” Changbin asked. 

Chan glared at Changbin, who shook his head.

“Look, I think it's better we all sat down and had a chat-” Chan said before he was cut off by Felix. 

“Ooo, great idea! Jisung and I have to catch up!” Felix said, grabbing a hold of Jisung’s hand with a smile. 

He pulled Jisung with him, who giggled, happy to see his friend after so long. 

“Come one, captain, let’s go!” 

Chan watched as the pair skipped past them, Chanbgin looking at him with a smirk. 

“Guess I know who wears the pants in this relationship.” 

Chan glowered at Changbin before following after them. 

They ended up in one of the nicer parts of Blaskin, Jisung and Felix happily chattering away on a park bench. Chan and Changbin stood across from them, leaning back against a brick wall. Changbin watched the rich with barely held disgust, snorting at their expensive clothes and purebred pets. Chan stood beside him, deep in thought before he spoke. 

“You helped him escape?” Chan asked, surprising Changbin with the question. 

“Truth be told it was an accident,” Changbin explained, crossing his arms as he did so, “Didn’t know who he was until my AI chewed me out on my ship as we were exiting the city's airspace. By then, the ships were after us, so we had to leave.”

Chan slowly nodded before he continued.

“And you just, kept him? Didn’t think about dropping him off at some colony?”

Changbin turned to Chan, surprising the captain as Changbin looked at him. 

“Stop trying to psychoanalyze me. Why was the Galactic Union called into this, of all things?” Changbin asked, turning the conversation over to Chan. 

Chan sighed looking over to the pair still seated on the bench.

“Kalur is part of the Union,” Chan said, “They asked us for help, knowing how large our force is.”

Changbin looked at him. “That doesn’t explain why the best ship and crew is out here looking for him.”

Chan sighed, rubbing his temples. 

“Look,” He said, turning to the other, “Truth be told, I don’t know much, all we were tasked with doing was arresting you and returning Jisung back to Kalur. But now? I’m not so sure.” 

Changbin raised his eyebrows. 

“What do you mean you’re not sure? I’m a bounty hunter, I kill people.” Changbin said looking away. 

Chan scoffed, shaking his head as he did so, a wiry smile on his face. 

“You know, I really thought you were some cold, heartless bastard, but after looking through your file, I realized something.” 

Changbin looked at him. “What?”

Chan looked at him, a knowing look on his face. “You’re not as bad as you think you are.” 

Chan didn’t speak anymore, just continued to observe his surroundings. 

Changbin sat there, feeling like he’d been ripped apart and examined thoroughly, by someone he didn’t even know.

_“I can’t believe you let a bounty hunter take you though,”_ Felix said with a sigh, shaking his head as Jisung hurried to protest.

 _“He’s really not as bad as you think, I swear!”_ Jisung said, a faint blush covering his cheeks. 

Felix raised his eyebrow, a sly smile playing across his lips.

 _“Jisung, you don’t like him, do you?”_ Felix asked, watching as Jisung turned a vivid shade of red in response. 

_“Lix! We’re not kids anymore!”_ Jisung spluttered, hands waving in front of him as Felix laughed. 

_“I’m just joking, you don’t actually like him, do you?”_ Felix asked, looking back at the pair before noticing how quiet the other had gotten. 

_“Jisung?”_ Felix said, looking at the apprehensive look on his friend’s face. 

Jisung looked down at his lap, playing with his fingers. 

_“Oh, you didn’t, Jisung no.”_ Felix murmured, face concerned now. 

_“He treats me well, and he protects me, even though I’m so useless,”_ Jisung whispered, _“I left for a reason, Felix, and I might have found it in him.”_

Felix bit his slip before speaking. _“Jisung, don’t be making a mistake, now, I know you didn’t agree to this marriage but if it’s for the good of the planet then-”_

Jisung stood up, surprising his friend with the power and conviction in his voice. 

_“But you weren’t there when they made it, you know I’m only a tool!”_ Jisung spat, hands balling into fists as he looked at Felix. _“I’m the Crown Prince only in name, not in position. That was my brother, you know that.”_

Felix frowned, pulling Jisung back down to sit. They sat in silence for a bit, Felix choosing his next words carefully. 

_“Is this what you want?”_ Felix said, looking at Jisung with an unreadable expression. 

Jisung looked up and with more confidence he had ever mustered in his entire life, spoke. 

_“This is what I want, I know that.”_ Jisung looked over at Changbin as he spoke. Smiling when the other looked over at them. 

Felix slowly smiled, watching the interaction. 

_“Alright, but if he breaks your heart I’ll hunt him down and kick his ass, bounty hunter or not.”_

A surprised look crossed over Jisung’s face, before a big grin broke out on his lips.

He pulled the other into hug thanking him over and over again. Felix smiled, squeezing the other in his arms. 

They stood in front of Chan and Felix’s craft, a small one made to embark from the main vessel. Changbin and Jisung stood across from them, Jisung wringing his hands as he looked at the captain. Changbin stood with his arms crossed, still staring Chan down. 

Chan smiled, as he spoke. “I think, that Jisung is safe with Changbin.” 

Felix looked at him surprised, a smile flitting across his face. 

“I didn’t think you'd agree with me. What changed?” Felix asked, watching as a secretive smile came across his face. 

“Changbin isn’t a threat from what I observed, and Jisung seems to be in good hands with him around,” Chan’s face suddenly took a serious tone, “And, I think there’s some digging to be done on Golxias’ and Kalur’s agreement.”

Felix brightened up jumping to look at the other head on. 

“So you do think there’s something weird about this arrangement. I knew it!” Felix said with a pump of his fist. 

Chan smiled fondly at Felix, Jisung taking note of it in the back of his mind. He turned to the pair, becoming stern.

“I suggest you leave now, more Kalurian and Golxian ships will be arriving in droves tomorrow.” Chan said, watching as Changbin sighed, his jaw tightening at the words. 

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Changbin muttered, watching Felix giggle as Chan’s offended expression.

“I won’t inform my superiors that I have found you two. For now, you’re still in the clear. Be careful though, they’re getting reckless and more aggressive.” 

Changbin nodded, Jisung giving Felix one last hug.

 _“Be safe, okay?”_ Felix said, squeezing Jisung gently. 

Jisung nodded, smiling at Chan who returned the gesture. The two entered their craft, Jisung and Changbin watching as they took off. 

Jisung waved until they were no longer in sight, arm gently dropping to his side.

He turned to Changbin, who sighed before beginning to walk. 

“Come on, let’s head back.”

Jisung smiled, nodding as he did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun dun!!!! stuffs about to go down in the next two chapters. next week will be a double update instead, so be excited for it! 
> 
> here's my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) and my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola), just incase there's a change in plans!!!
> 
> have a nice day, evening or night and seeya next week! xo


	6. Graveyard of the Heart, Secrets of the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heyo, it me, finnoola! welcome to the double update! 
> 
> comments and kudos are appreciated! lets get reading!

Jin sighs in relief when Changbin and Jisung enter the cockpit, both in one piece. He was worried when they didn’t immediately return after a couple hours. Jisung looks happier, brighter. JIn wonders what happened, Changbin looking less tense than before, but still guarded. 

“I’m glad you came back in one piece,” Jin says from his place at the console, “I for sure thought you’d get caught.”

“We did,” Changbin said, placing his bag down on the bench. 

Jin’s eyes widened, a choking sound escaping his mouth at Changbin’s words. 

“But we were saved, by a Galactic Union Captain and First Officer,” Changbin explained, watching as the panic rose on Jin’s face before continuing, “The First Officer, happened to be a friend of Jisung’s, and we were let go. They said they were suspicious of the whole arrangement, and wanted to investigate it more.”

Jin glared at Changbin before speaking.

“You’re fucking lucky.” Jin deadpans, tapping on the console again and prepping the ship for launch. “Let’s get the hell outta here.”

Up in space, Jisung found himself exploring the ship. He hadn’t gotten around to familiarizing himself with the layout. He roamed the black metal walls of the Hawk, peeking into rooms. Most were empty, devoid of furniture and life. Jisung eventually found the kitchen, rummaging around the cabinets for the food that they had picked up. He smiled when he found a bag of something, taking it and leaving the kitchen and resuming his exploration. 

Jisung ended up on the top deck, where he could look up into the blackness of space. He watched the twinkling specks of distant stars, the colourful surfaces of planets they passed, as well as the clouds of stardust the was speckled in parts of the galaxy. He laid on his back, watching the stars pass by. 

He was deep in thought, hand resting on his chest. Jisung moved his other hand to the pockets of his overalls. In his one pocket, laid the small box with the Terrian crystal. Jisung pulled the box out, opening it and retrieving the crystal form inside. He placed the box on his chest, holding the crystal up. It shone in the dim light, a sort of beacon for him. He scrunched his face up, turning on his side and curling up. The crystal rested in his hand, fingers curled around the hard edges. 

Jisung hoped Felix and Captain Chan could figure out what was going on. He knew, deep in his heart, that there was something wrong with this arrangement.

Jin hums, fingers tapping on the screen of the holo console. He looks behind him, checking if anyone was still in the cockpit with him. Changbin was off somewhere, and Jisung had left to explore the ship awhile ago. 

He sighs, opening up the loading screen for the decryption of the folder. Jin’s eyes widened as he noticed the 99% turn into 100%. 

With a sharp gasp, Jin watched as the folder automatically opened, and he was barraged with a lifetime’s worth of information. The files all at once, were downloaded into his program. Flashes of the videos kept hidden entered his CPU, disorienting him as he tried to process the information as fast as they were being downloaded. 

Once the videos stopped downloading, Jin stood there, processor browsing through all the files until he got to the last one. Wordlessly, Jin looked up and stared at his reflection through the holo screen. He stuck his hand out, watching as he went through the screen, like a ghost.

With a heavy breath he didn’t need to do anymore, Jin finally spoke. 

“What the fuck?”

Jisung smiles, heading into the cockpit. He’s playing around with the Terrian crystal Changbin gave him when Jin’s hard-edged voice cuts through the air. 

“Changbin, what the fuck is this?” Jin hisses, hand pointing to a folder that he has displayed on the holo screen. 

Jisung stops as he enters, watching as Changbin freezes when he sees that folder on screen. Instead of the cryptic code that had been the folder’s name before, it now reads ‘Memories’. Jisung’s face is scrunched up in confusion, as he looks between the pair. Jin looks furious, almost betrayed, even. Changbin looks haunted, body taunt as he looks at the screen. Changbin slowly walks towards the other, voice lost in his throat before he finds it. 

“Where…? Where did you find that?” Changbin rasps, voice trembling as he looks at Jin. 

Jin frowns, eyes hurt as he speaks. “In the deepest, darkest bowels of this-my program. Hidden, from me. Care to explain why?” 

“You weren’t supposed to find it, how’d you-?” Changbin babbles, before Jin cuts him off.

“Tell me!” Jin shouts, a frenzied look in his eyes. 

Jisung jumps, surprised at the level of emotion in the AI’s voice. The prince looks at Changbin, whose face is hidden in shadows. Jin calms down a bit, but walks back to the folder and taps the screen. It opens, a flood of what seems like video files begins to fill the screen. 

“These-These are memory files, the same type you can find in the spinal cord memory bank in your prosthetic,” Jin explains, his voice choked, “Mercs use this to control children they kidnap to be used as weapons, it’s a way to break them down emotionally. Haunt them with their worst fears.” 

Changbin stayed silent, face still looking down at the floor. Jisung doesn’t quite understand what Jin is saying, his brain struggling to connect the dots. Jin walks a little aways from the screen looking at Changbin with a broken expression. 

“I already restored them,” Jin says, causing Changbin’s head to snap up.

“Hyunjin,” He breathed. 

Jisung watched, confused as to why he was calling Jin that until Jin himself spoke. 

“Well, it immediately did after I decrypted the folder,” Jin, or Hyunjin as Changbin was now calling him explained, “Suddenly I was two different people, but not really, I just had to bridge the gap, between my death and my rebirth.”

A gasp caught itself in Jisung’s throat, understanding the implication of his words. 

Hyunjin, was once human. 

Changbin looked away, suddenly unable to look Hyunjin in the eyes. Hyunjin looked at him, sad and broken. 

“Why’d you hide it from me? Why erase my memories, lock out our time together, and then create this, this farce?” Hyunjin frantically asked, searching for an explanation in Changbin’s face. 

“Because I’m the reason you died.” Changbin rasped out.

Jisung’s head snapped over to Changbin, who looked up at Hyunjin with pained eyes. 

“If I’d been quicker, if I’d been smarter, stronger, better-” Changbin said, voice rising with each word before breaking off at the end.

Hyunjin shook his head, saddened by the pain his friend had experienced all these years. 

“You didn’t kill me Changbin,” Hyunjin said, voice breaking, “Those, those men did. They took me away, not you. You didn’t do anything to-”

“That’s the fucking point!” Changbin barked, causing Jisung to huddle against the wall, terrified by the sudden turn in emotion in Changbin. 

Hyunjin’s eyes widened, watching as his friend broke down in front of him. 

“I just watched,” Changbin said, voice breaking as he spoke, “Just watched them like some fucking idiot, as they took you away. I promised our parents that I would protect you, promised myself I would, and I didn’t even do that.” 

Hyunjin stared at Changbin, watching as the other took in shallow breaths. 

“I never blamed you,” Hyunjin murmured, eyes looking so sad, “Never, not even once, as I laid there, did I blame you.” 

“Well, I did.” Changbin said through gritted teeth. 

With a turn of his heel, Changbin walked out of the cockpit. 

Jisung stood there, head reeling with a million questions. Eventually, he looked towards the AI, who now stood with his head hung low.

 _“Ji-Hyunjin-?”_ Jisung croaked, head reeling as he walked forward.

He stopped when Hyunjin shook his head. Hyunjin looked up and smiled sadly at Jisung. Jisung felt his heart break, as the other, looked back towards the screen. 

“I’m fine, Jisung, I just,” Hyunjin sighed before looking back at the other with sad eyes, “I just want to be alone right now, please?”

Jisung’s mouth opened, before it slowly closed. He nodded, backing off quietly. Jisung stopped at the cockpit door, hand hovering over the button before he pushed it and let himself out. 

When the door closed behind him, he stood there. Jisung was lost, what had happened, that had caused this? How’d Hyunjin, as he was formerly known, end up like this? What was Changbin hiding from him? He needed to know, he had to know. So, he went to look for him.

Jisung looked everywhere in the ship. Yet he could not find the brooding bounty hunter anywhere, it wasn’t until he realized that Changbin was probably in the place he felt most safe. Jisung hurried down the halls, panting as he stopped in front of the door. He hesitated, hand hovering over the door before he knocked. 

He waited a few seconds, before opening the door himself when he got no response. When the door opened, he saw Changbin sitting on the bed, head in his hands. Jisung crept in, nose wrinkling at the smell of burned metal. He looked over to the wall, and saw more scorch marks and melted holes in it. His eyes noted the phaser sitting on the bed next to him, most likely the source of the melted holes.

Jisung walked until he was just in front of the other, before he carefully kneeled before Changbin.

 _“Changbin-”_ Jisung whispered, gasping when Changbin’s head lifted to look at him. 

Changbin looked defeated, he looked dead. Changbin’s eyes were rimmed in vibrant red, cheeks and eyes still glistening with tears. Jisung’s heart hurt, hands coming up to hold his face. 

Changbin turned his head, unable to look the other in the eye when he now knew what he had done. Jisung sighed, defeated as Changbin refused to look at him. Looking down, he thought before his mind came to a conclusion. 

With a small exhale, he began to talk. 

_“You know, my brother died, earlier this year.”_ Jisung whispered, Changbin’s eyes flicking over to him. _“He was the crown prince, the heir, next to be king. But he was killed in a conflict with Golxian troops.”_

Changbin turned his head to Jisung, who stared at his hands in his lap as he spoke.

 _“I wasn’t privy to the plans my father and brother had made before his death, but I know it didn’t involve a wedding.”_ Jisung murmured. _“I was just a prince, I had no role, except I would be married off to whoever piqued my father and mother’s interest the most. Whoever could give them what they wanted.”_

Jisung looked up at Changbin, his eyes sparkled, but still, he would not cry. Changbin looked into his eyes, seeing all the pain and insecurity wrought in the blue orbs. With a shaky exhale, Jisung spoke more.

 _“I didn’t want to be king, nor did I want to marry someone I didn’t love. I had my own plans for when my brother became king, but they were taken from me, by the Golxians.”_ Jisung said, voice a little steadier now. _“All of a sudden I had lost not only my best friend, and my brother, I had lost my freedom.”_

Changbin watched as Jisung took one of Changbin’s hands in his, gently grasping the larger one in his frailer hand. He shivered at the contact, Jisung’s lips opening once more. 

_“I felt useless, my best friend was gone, my brother was dead. I couldn’t be king, I couldn’t join the Galactic Union, I couldn’t even be the Golxian king’s husband. So I left. Left my responsibilities behind because I wasn’t enough.”_ Jisung looked straight into Changbin’s eyes with such emotion, Changbin felt his heart shake. _“Whatever you think you did, or what you believe is your fault, I promise you, it won’t change what I think of you.”_

Changbin stared at Jisung, breath heavy as Jisung looked into his very soul. Jisung was sincere, his eyes unyielding, his posture gentle. Changbin felt like he could finally tell someone, what had happened, those seven years ago. 

With a shuddering breath, Changbin began to tell the story of Hyunjin and himself. 

  
  


The wind whistled through the air, gently brushing against the tall grass. It was a cool balm, that counteracted the harsh beating of the sun on the skin of the two boys who played in the field. The slightly taller boy, with short, cropped black hair smiled joyously as his friend chased him through the grass. The other boy, shorter, with longer, floppy hair and sharp features, giggles wildly as he pursued him. They shouted and hooted, the older boy dodging the younger's attempts to catch him. Racing down the length of the field, the younger boy suddenly gasped, foot slipping from underneath himself as he fell flat on the ground. 

With a muffled shout, the older boy turned around, eyes widening at the sight of the younger.

“Hyunjin!” He shouted, rushing over and falling to his knees next to him. “Are you alright? Do I need to call your mom?”

Hyunjin slowly picked himself up, brushing off the dirt and grass on his pants. With a toothy smile, Hyunjin shook his head. 

“I’m fine, Changbin-hyung,” Hyunjin said, “I just slipped, but I think I’m good.” 

Changbin let out a sigh of relief, grabbing the other’s forearm gently, hoisting him up. 

“That’s good, I’m glad you’re not hurt,” Changbin said, a smile on his face. 

Changbin, was the oldest son of Seo Hyejin, a single mother who was an Ancient Human Civilizations historian and archaeologist. Changbin had a younger brother, Hyunwoo, who was just 7 years younger than him. Hyunjin, was the son of a friend of his mother, who took care of Changbin and Hyunwoo when she was away. Hyunjin was only a year younger than Changbin, but the boys were inseparable. 

Changbin took his role as the oldest seriously, knowing that when his mother was away he had the responsibility to help Eunji, Hyunjin’s mother, in taking care of the younger ones. He held his brother's hand as they crossed the street and to school. He made sure that the boy’s did their chores, and ate all their food at dinner. Changbin was their protector, he never wanted anything bad to befall them, he would always be there for them. 

Hyejin, was a good mother. She called Changbin and Hyunwoo daily, always happy to hear and see her son’s faces and voices. Hyejin would always bring souvenirs back from her trips, watching happily at the awe and interest in their eyes as she told them stories about the objects they received. 

Changbin had received the necklace, the _vegvísir,_ when he was 7 years old. He wore it daily, always reminded of his mother’s words when she had given it to him. 

“This symbol was used for when people had lost their way,” Hyejin had explained to her son as she dropped the pendant around his neck, “Whatever happens, it will always lead you back to me.”

Changbin had stared into his mother’s eyes, twinkling at the sight of him, lips held in a beautiful smile. He had smiled back, nodding at his mother’s words as he touched the pendant in awe. 

Changbin smiled at Hyunjin. 

“Alright, I’ll be ‘it’, now, since you fell.” Changbin said, watching as Hyunjin nodded in agreement. “I’ll give you a headstart, on the count of 5...4…” 

Hyunjin screeched, darting back down the field, as Changbin readied himself to chase after the other. 

When darkness fell, the boy’s trekked back to the house, smiling and greeting Eunji happily. 

“Welcome back, Hyunjin-ah, Changbin-ah,” Eunji said with a smile, as she peered down the hallway from the kitchen, “Dinner is almost ready, go wash up, okay?”

“Alright!” They chimed, heading upstairs to the bathroom. 

Changbin helped Hyunwoo at the sink, making sure his brother washed the marker and paint from his hands. Hyunjin waited patiently, rocking back on his feet as he watched the siblings. Sometimes, Hyunjin got jealous. He was an only child, and had no siblings to call his own. So to see Changbin take such good care of Hyunwoo, made him bristle with anger, and sometimes, sadness. 

Hyunjin watched, a small frown on his face as Changbin helped Hyunwoo down from the stool and told him to get to the dinner table. His head followed Hyunwoo who happily skipped away and down the hallway to the stairs. 

“Your turn Hyunjin-ah,” Changbin chimed up, Hyunjin’s head snapped back to the other, who stood there, drying his hands. 

Hyunjin nodded. Stepping up to the sink and turning the faucet on. Changbin waited for him, as he washed his hands. They went down to dinner together, Eunji setting down the food as they walked into the room. 

“Alright, boys, dinner’s ready! I bought a cake too, from that bakery down the street for dessert, so eat up!” 

The boy’s cheered, hastily filling up their plates and shovelling the food in their mouths.

“Easy, the cake’s not going anywhere, I promise,” Eunji laughed, sitting down and getting herself a plate of food. 

Dinner was always a social affair, where the boys would tell Eunji about what they did that day. Since it was school break, the kids had been exploring the outskirts of the little town they lived in. Little towns were rare, now, as the world was now filled with larger cities filled with gleaming buildings, steel ships, and millions of people. 

The boys had been to Seoul, before, on trips they would take on weekends and breaks from school. They had marvelled at the tall structures, the speeders that would whiz pass and the sparkling cars. The best building there, to the boys, was the Galactic Union quarters, right near the river. Hyunjin and Changbin dreamed of leaving the planet one day, speeding amongst the stars and meeting new alien species, visiting new planets. 

They made a promise, that one day, they would join the Galactic Union, get their own ship and crew, and travel to far off galaxies. The boys were smart, Hyunjin, was good with computers and technology, and Changbin was great at learning about other alien cultures, a trait he had picked up from his mother. In flight simulators, Changbin was fantastic, he had a pilot’s instinct, as told by an instructor when he was 13. While Hyunjin worked hard on learning about programming and coding. He wanted to be the best there was. 

Both boys worked hard, even at such a young age to make their dream come true. 

“Hey, hyung,” Hyunjin asked, from where he was lying on Changbin’s bed, a game controller in his hand. 

“Yeah, Hyunjin?” Changbin said, scribbling out some notes onto a paper as he worked at his desk. 

“Do you still believe that we’ll really be able to take the cadet test, and enter the academy?” Hyunjin said, watching as Changbin stopped and turned to look at the other.

“I don’t believe, Hyunjin, I know, we will get to the sky, no matter what.” Changbin said, his tone firm in his belief as Hyunjin grinned at him. 

Changbin grinned back, thoughts of being on a spaceship of his own, clouding his mind.

Hyunwoo was sick, when it happened. 

Hyunjin and Changbin were walking along the field, a place of many good memories as they talked. In a split decision, they went to the junkyard, which they had been warned to never go to. Changbin had never known why, but, now that he was older, he was sure that nothing could harm them there. 

They entered the junkyard, heaps of gleaming metal and scraps of it littered around the large plot of land. They climbed the heaps, looking and playing with objects they found. They didn’t notice as the sky turned gray, the clouds blocking out the light from the sun as they wandered the yard. Changbin laughed, as Hyunjin tried to push an old chair, before his ears picked up on a droning noise. 

He looked up, a small red and black ship landing in the middle of the junkyard, close to where they were. Changbin’s eyes widened, before he rushed over to Hyunjin pulling the boy with him behind an old fridge. He pressed a finger to his lips, eyes frenzied as he peered around the fridge. 

The ship landed, dust blowing out from under it. It was quiet, for a few moments, as Changbin and Hyunjin watched from their hiding places. When the hangar door opened, a pack of a dozen men and aliens spilled out. They were rough and ragged, dressed in fatigues and had phasers and various types of weaponry strapped on them. 

Changbin watched them carefully, as he knew that ships that big, did not land near this close to their town. It was then he heard a buzzing noise, growing ever closer. He watched, as a speeder zoomed into the junkyard, stopping meters away from the ship. Another man like the ones milling around the yard stepped out before opening the back with two more men. And out they pulled children.

The kids were around their ages, all different species, humans, Crystix, Calathrians, and so on. Changbin felt his throat grow dry as the children were pushed towards the ship.

These were mercenaries. They were hired by military groups, ordered to train children to become living, breathing, weapons. Hyunjin gasped beside him, Changbin looking at him, and giving him a comforting look.

They would get way, and they’d tell someone. Changbin motioned carefully for Hyunjin to walk close to him. Hyunjin followed, both boys creeping away, out of sight of the mercs. But a stray can, cost them their freedom. Immediately, the attention of the mercs were caught and they came rushing over. 

“Run!” He shouted, both him and Hyunjin bolting away as fast as they could. 

They were no match for the experienced fighters, getting caught only a few feet away, when two appeared around the corner and grabbed them. Changbin fought, trying to wrestle out his grasp. Yet the man was too strong and Changbin and Hyunjin were thrown into the ship, with the rest of the children. They sat there, with the others, scared out of their minds as they felt the ship take off and the men sneered and grinned around them. 

Changbin felt his dream, slip through his fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 1 of the double update! We got to see a glimpse of Hyunjin and Changbin's childhood together, and now the fate of Hyunjin looms in part 2 of the update, dun dun, dun!


	7. Solar Winds Swept Along Dying Stars

Being the mercs’ dogs, was the worst thing Changbin had ever experienced. The first thing they did, was do the surgery on them. They ripped into the kids skin and muscle, implanting wires and metal, attaching the exospine to each of their backs. Changbin had passed out during the surgery, as the mercs had done it with no anaesthesia. The mercs believed that in order to build a good soldier, they had to rip all feeling out of them; pain, emotion, dreams. 

They had to be soulless. 

Half of the kids picked up did not survive the surgery. Thankfully or not, Hyunjin and Changbin did. The way they lived on the ship was in cramped rooms used for storage, sleeping on a small dirty floor, with few meals. They were trained on different planets, in different atmospheres and environments. They taught them to shoot, to fight, to steal, to _kill_.

Changbin picked up quickly, he was their best. Teach him to shoot, he’d hit the target’s bullseye every time. Taught him to fight, he’d know the weak spot of every race. Changbin went through blistering deserts, dehydrated and starved, for days, building up his stamina and strength. He did what they asked, even though he hated it. 

Hyunjin, on the other hand, fought back. 

He refused to shoot, refused to fight, refused to kill. He rebelled, sometimes fighting back when they beat him. Hyunjin did not let them break him. Anyone was forbidden from helping him.

Only he helped, trying to save his friend, but was met with a button being pushed, and spine shattering pain being drilled into his head and bones. 

Changbin would watch, eyes shaking as he looked at the small device in the mercs hands. The little thing that could put him in so much pain and torture, feed off his mind and torture him with memories and lies. Yet, he always went for Hyunjin. No matter what the pain, what the torture, he could do it for him. 

Lying on his side, in the dark room that was designated as theirs, Hyunjin spoke. 

“Hyung?” He croaked, head laying on the cold metal floor. 

Changbin shifted turning to the other. “Yeah?”

“Do you think,” Hyunjin began to ask, eyes watering as he spoke, “Do you think we’ll ever be free?” 

Changbin looked at the wall, the ship humming as it flew through the black of space. He was quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say before his mouth opened on its own accord and words tumbled out. 

“Yeah, I do.”

Hyunjin sniffled, wiping at his eyes. “Okay, I believe you, hyung.”

Changbin moved over, gently petting the other on the head. 

“We will get out of here, no matter what Hyunjin, I promise you.” Changbin murmured, voice hard. “We will.”

They were there for a year. Trained every day, broken and built back up, and then broken down again. Over and over their limits were tested and retested. Everyday, Changbin grew a little more bitter, and everyday Hyunjin grew a little more hopeless. The boys were tired every second of the day. Always hungry, always thirsty. 

One day, they arrived at a desert planet. Void of life and people. They took all of them, lined them up in a row along the reddish dust that scratched at their eyes. The leader of them, Git, was a one-eyed man with bad teeth and a snarling smile. He walked up and down the line, before going straight back to the beginning. He gave the first kid that awful smile, patting the kid on the back before nudging him out of the line. The other mercs pulled the kid to stand across from them. 

Git went to the next kid, doing the same thing, pulling the kid out of the line and across from them. When Git got to the third kid, his smile turned manic, and quick as a shot, the kid was laid out on his back, blood flowing from his forehead. Hyunjin stiffened beside him, and Changbin finally realized what was happening. They were weeding out the weak, the worst ones, and finally shipping them off to far-off armies. 

Changbin let out a shaky breath, eyes staring forward as Git continued down the line, pulling out kids and killing others. 

When Git got to him, Changbin prayed he would be killed. Anything to be put out of the misery that was sure to follow if he was to be shipped off to some alien army. 

Yet all Git did was smile at him broadly, almost proud of him, before nudging him out of the line. Changbin felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He walked to the line across from the other. When he turned around he locked eyes with Hyunjin. 

Git walked over to Hyunjin, a smirk on his face as he spoke. 

“You’ve been a right pain in the ass, laddie,” He rasped, hand on his knife, “How about we teach you one last lesson, hm?” 

Hyunjin gulped, before a few more mercs walked forward. The first one, punched Hyunjin straight in the face, making him stumble back. Changbin made to move, but was restrained by two mercs. He struggled in the older men’s old, trying to get to Hyunjin as they beat him to his knees.

Changbin growled, growing frantic as Hyunjin tilted forward on his knees, blood dripping from his nose and mouth as he wheezed and coughed. 

“No,” Changbin rasped, pulling against the two mercs in fear, “Stop it, stop it now!”

Git looked behind him, an eerie smile on his face as he took in Changbin’s frantic face. 

With a sharp intake of breath, one of the mercs kicked Hyunjin across the face. A sickening crack was heard, and Hyungjin fell backwards, splayed out on the dusty ground. 

Changbin snapped, red flooding his vision as he took in Hyunjin’s prone form. He wrenched himself out of the two mercs' grasps with a grunt, punching them both and knocking their heads together. The others began to mobilize, trying to take him down, but Changbin had learned far too much from them. 

He grabbed one merc's arm as he charged at him with a knife, twisting their wrist and watching as the knife dropped from their grasp. He used his foot to kick the knife up and caught it mid air with his free hand, stabbing the merc in the face with a frenzied shout. He blocked the next attack, twisting the knife and shoving it in the other’s neck as they tried to subdue him. The next two mercs tried to shoot him, but he was too quick. He charged them, dodging the blasts and kicking them both in the face. Changbin grabbed a phaser from another’s hand, and began to shoot at each merc running towards him with violent precision. 

It wasn’t until Git was the last one standing, that Changbin stood amid a bloody carnage, the other kids staring at him in awe. Changbin looked up, fixing the other with a feral glare, before he charged right at him. Git snarled, tryign to grab his gun, cursing at Changbin as he threw himself through the air, and launched the knife right through Git’s forehead. Git dropped to the ground like a doll, gun slipping from his grasp. His body was limp as blood dripped down his face, mixing in witht he red dust of the earth. 

Changbin walked over to Git’s corpse and pulled the knife from his forehead. He then turned to Hyunjin’s body. He felt the adrenaline in his body wash away, now replaced with bitter defeat as he slowly stumbled over to his friend's lifeless body. Dropping the phaser and the knife, Changbin kneeled in the dust, picking up Hyunjin’s prone form in his arms. 

He choked, trying to hold back tears, but they flowed freely when he took in his friend’s sad state. Hyunjin’s brown eyes were open, staring lifelessly at the sky above him. Blood covered his chin and mouth, flowing from his nose. It was splattered against his white t-shirt, painted with the red dirt of the planet as well. 

Changbin cried, holding his body close, cradling it like he was still a child. Sobbing he buried his face in Hyunjin’s hair, murmuring apologies. 

“Hyunjin-ah, hyung’s sorry he couldn’t protect you, he’s sorry he broke his promise,” He rasped, letting his hand fall over Hyunjin’s eyes, letting them fall shut. “I promised I would bring you back home, but I failed, didn’t I? You must hate me now. I’m sorry.”

After a bit, Changbin heard the kids move behind him. One of them walked carefully towards him before speaking. 

“Thank you, for freeing us, I’m sorry about your friend,” The Crystix girl said, a somber expression on her glittering face. 

Changbin shook his head. “It’s not your fault, but mine.”

Changbin looked at the other kids, watching as they cried over the ones’ who did not survive. Some had begun to bury them, placing little placeholders like rocks to mark their graves. 

“What should we do now?” The girl asked Changbin, who stared off into the horizon, the sun beginning to set. 

He looked down at Hyunjin’s body in his arms, before looking back at the girl. 

“Take one of the ships,” He said, eyes zeroing in on the two ships that brought them here. “Get out of here, find a colony, and live your lives how you want to, now.”

The Crystix girl scrunched her face up in worry, when Changbin didn’t get up. 

“Will you come with us?” She asked, frowning when Changbin shook his head. “Alright, we’ll leave the other ship, take care, alright? And thank you.”

The Crystix girl walked off, shouting at the rest of the children to gather around as she told them what their plans were now. Changbin continued to sit there, holding Hyunjin’s body. He barely moved when he heard the ship take off, and His head looked at it as it flew into the sky, until it was merely a speck. 

Sighing, he gently rose, picking up Hyunjin’s body as he did so. He walked a little further aways from the site, past the corpses of the mercs. Changbin walked to the edge of a cliff, placing Hyunjin's body down. He began to dig with his hands, the red dirt staining his skin as he worked. The sun beat down on him, blasting with a ferocity that his own sun didn’t have back home. 

When he had a deep enough hole, he looked at Hyunjin. Before he lowered the other down, he felt for the top of Hyunjin’s exospine, feeling a little button on the side. He pushed it, and felt a little chip come out. He took the chip, before putting Hyunjin safely in the hole. He frowned, feeling more tears well up as he pushed the dirt over his friend’s body, watching him disappear from view. 

He stood up, when he was done, placing a large rock as the marker of his grave. He took a knife from one of the mercs, and carved the date of his birth and death on it, as well as his name. He settled the rock down, tears flowing down his cheeks.

He rose, wiping his face, dirt now marking his cheeks. He looked down at the grave, the chip clutched in his hands. Changbin looked up to see the setting sun, before turning away.

Walking away from the grave was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Changbin felt like lead, each step of his heavy and slow. He didn’t want to leave Hyunjin here, but Hyunjin was gone. And it was all his fault. He couldn’t even return him to their home. Changbin didn’t know where they were, or where his home was. 

He didn't realize he had made it to the ship’s cockpit until he was standing in front of the doors. He blinked, before walking in. He felt bile in his throat, as he walked to the controls and searched for the nearest colony. His hands stopped, when he swiped through the colony's news, eyes scanning the article with interest. He tapped on it, enlarging it and read through it. Changbin tapped the AI console, watching as a blue short-haired woman appeared. 

“Set a course for Tacha,” He instructed, watching as the AI nodded. 

“Setting course for Tacha, initiating lift off and warp drive,” The AI responded. 

Changbin felt the ship hum, the engines roaring to life. He took a hold of the wheel, checking the panels and dials on the dashboard. 

He closed his eyes when it lifted off, zooming off into the sky and into space. 

Down on the planet, a lone rock sat there. 

It’s inscription read:

_Hwang Hyunjin_

_March 20, 2130-May 16th, 2144_

_My brother, may you rest in peace now_

Changbin ended up at Tacha, asking the AI, Spika, about the colony as they landed. He took a copy of the article with him, walking in the crowded streets as Spika guided him to his destination. When he pushed the door open, he was met with the interested stares of the people around him. Changbin didn’t mind them staring, as he walked to the back. When he made it to the counter, a furry alien looked him up and down. 

“You’re a bit young, don’t ya think, to be walking around in places like this?” The alien said, as Changbin huffed. 

He threw a bloodied badge down on the wooden counter, watching as the alien’s eyes widened. 

“Heard there was a bounty for this man, Git, I took him out.” Changbin said nonchalantly.

The alien spluttered, the whole bar looking at him now, listening in.

“How-You?” The alien stuttered, before realization dawned on his face. “You’re one of them, those kids.”

Changbin stared at him, as the alien leaned under the counter and brought up two items. He pushed a cuff to Changbin who eyed it, before picking it up.

“You’ll need this to get your payment,” The alien said, before picking up the other device, “And this will be useful, as well.”

Changbin finished placing the cuff around his wrist, the screen lighting up. The alien man tapped the side of the device, before handing it to Changbin. 

“Put it in your ear, it helps with translating languages,” The alien said, watching as Changbin put it in his ear. “Welcome, you’re officially a bounty hunter now. Anything you need can be accessed through that cuff, such as bounty hunter only info and bounty information and requests.” 

Changbin nodded, before looking up at the man.  
“I have a question for you, where’s the nearest ship depot? I need a new one, the old one, it carries bad memories.” Changbin asked, as the alien transferred the pulsars for the bounty over.

“Down the street, take a left, Chivy will help you out,” The alien said, watching as Changbin nodded. 

“Thank you,” He said, before turning away. 

“Good luck, kid,” The alien said as he left, the rest of the people in the bar staring at him with interest. 

Changbin pushed open the door, letting himself out into the bright light of this city. He looked down at his hand, opening it and seeing the chip. With a sigh, he put it back in his pants pocket, before heading in the direction the old alien had told him. Changbin walked amongst the people, eyes taking in the sights he had never seen before. 

“Hyunjin would’ve loved this,” He whispered to himself, stopping at a store that read ‘Chivy’s Ship’s and Speeders’. 

Changbin walked in, eyes talking in the large hangar. He stopped, checking how many pulsars he’d gotten, eyes widening at the amount. It was 15,000,000 million pulsars. It looked like Git was a very wanted man. He took a shaky breath realizing he had way more then he needed to buy a working ship. 

He walks amongst the stock, eyeing up each one and noting their capabilities, he didn’t need anything fancy, so when he stopped in front of a moderately sized, space-black ship, he knew he found what he needed. 

“May I help you, young man?” A voice asked right beside him. 

Changbin turned, taking in a petite alien with whiskers and a small antenna on his head. 

“I’d like to buy this ship, if that’s okay?” Changbin said, watching as the man’s face broke into a wide grin.

“Of course, anything for a paying customer!” The petite alien exclaimed. “Would you like to buy an AI attendant, as well?” 

Cahngbin opened his mouth, before an idea struck him, he pushed his hand into his pants pocket, feeling Hyunjin’s chip there. With a shake of his head, he declined. 

“No, I have a very capable one already.” Changbin said, looking back at the ship. 

“Alright then, right this way,” The alien said, leading him to an office to complete the transaction. 

Later that day, Changbin sat in the new ship, sitting on the cockpit floor. He had the main server compartment opened, Spika guiding him through the steps to install and program a new AI. 

“Now, input the name you’d like to call the AI,” Spika said from Changbin’s left. 

Changbin stared at the blinking cursor, hands hovering over the keyboard. He hesitated, before inputting the name. 

“Good, now initializing boot up,” Spika announced, before speaking again, “There are memory files encrypted on this chip, would you like to upload them as well?”

“No!” Changbin barked, before calming himself down. “No, thank you Spika, just encrypt the folder and hide it please.”

Spika nodded abiding by Changbin’s words. “Alright, AI is being uploaded to drive and ship, is there anything else you’d like me to do, before I leave?”

“No thank you, Spika, thank you for your help, you can rest now.” Changbin murmured, watching as Spika smiled at him. 

“Thank you, for being so kind to me,” Spika said, smiling gratefully at Changbin before blinking out of existence. 

Changbin sat there, watching the loading bar of the AI upload. It was quiet now, Changbin patiently waiting for the program to be done. 

A slight beep was heard, Changbin watching as the bar turned to 100%, before the loading screen blinked out of existence. Changbin watched as the screen started up the new program.

It was quiet as the ship hummed, before initializing the new program. He heard a little noise, breath catching in his throat as he sat on the floor. 

“Hello, my name is Jin, I am your ship’s personal AI attendant, nice to meet you, Seo Changbin.” A voice said behind him.

With a shaky breath, Changbin got up, before turning around to face the AI. It was Hyunjin, even with the new look, made to make him look older than he would never get to be now. His eyes were bright blue, now, a trait that came with being an AI. His hair was longer and shaggy, but styled coolly. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and black jeans, sneakers on his feet. He had silver bracelets adorning his wrists, and two earrings on each ear. He was taller too, and Changbin tried not to break down again in front of him.

Changbin’s breath shook, before he spoke. “Set coordinates for Blaskin, on Kilgar.”

Jin nodded a smile crossing his face. 

“Alright, Changbin.”

Jisung sat there, breath heavy as he listened to Changbin’s story. He looked up, watching as Changbin spoke. 

“After that, the rest was history,” He murmured, staring down at his hands, “I became a bounty hunter, taking any job that spoke to me. I picked the hardest ones, wanting to repent, wanting to someday die.”

Jisung looked at Changbin, eyes filled with sadness. 

“But I was good, too good.” Changbin smiled ruefully, clenching his hands. “It's like whatever gods out there were punishing me. Death seemed too easy a way out for me, I had to live, knowing that Hyunjin couldn’t anymore.”

Jisung watched as more tears fell down Changbin’s face. 

“I didn’t think he would find it, didn’t think that as the days passed he would become more and more like Hyunjin, like he really was right there.” Changbin’s voice shook as he spoke, “Is that really him? Or just a program that thinks he is? I don’t know anymore, I should have left him in peace, I shouldn’t have done this for my own selfish reasons.”

Jisung looked down, trying to find the right words to comfort him. He bit his lip, teeth chewing on it in the tense silence. 

_“You did what you thought was right,”_ Jisung said carefully, _“You wanted to somehow keep him alive, wanted to give him a second chance. You were a kid, Changbin. You were alone.”_

Changbin sniffled, wiping his face with his arm. When Changbin looked away from him and didn’t say anymore, Jisung sighed sadly. He got up, hand letting go of Changbin’s. With one last look at Changbin, he left the room. 

Jisung wandered the ship, head digesting the information. He was walking past the kitchen head spinning, before he suddenly turned on his heel. He walked with purpose, straight to the cockpit. 

WIth a hiss the doors opened, and Jisung went straight to the AI drive, but before he could wake Hyunjin up, a frantic beeping was heard. Jisung looked at the map, and saw four red dots closing in on a blue one. 

“Shit, they found us!” Hyunjin’s voice said, Jisung whirling around and saw the other frantically tapping at the screen. 

Jisung felt ice flow through his veins, body freezing up at Hyunjin’s words. 

_“W-What? How?!”_ Jisung asked, watching as Hyunjin swore. 

“I don’t know but-” Hyunjin was cut off when the ship rocked, Jisung stumbling from the force. 

“Fuck them, are they firing at us?” Hyunjin asked, eyes sweeping over the screen. “Jisung, strap in, just in case they fire at us again.”

Jisung nodded, racing over to the navigator's chair and buckling in. 

Suddenly, the cockpit door opened, and Changbin came charging in.

“Hyunjin, what's our status?” He ordered, heading straight to the captain's chair. 

Hyunjin swore, when another hit rocked the ship. “We got four bogeys, but only two are armed.”

Changbin cursed, taking hold of the steering wheel and shifting the ship. 

“Alright then, you fuckers, you wanna play? Let’s fucking play.” He snarled, pressing a couple buttons. 

The ship swerved, turning around and facing the four ships. 

“Initiating weapons system, fire when ready,” Hyunjin called, hands moving on the screen.

Changbin pressed a button on the wheel, firing multiple blasts as he charged towards the ships. He hit one, watching an explosion burst out of the side, another following and forming a chain reaction. The ship burst into flames, Changbin swearing as he whizzed past the remaining three. He flicked his wrist, the ship turning sharply and heading back towards the others. He fired more shots, watching them hit two. They were direct hits, the ships exploding in blazing balls of fire. 

“One more little bastard,” Changbin said, zeroing in on it. 

Changbin’s finger was posed over the button ready to fire when Hyunjin yelled out. 

“Wait-Changbin don’t shoot!” 

Changbin swore, swerving at the last second and passing the other ship by centimeters. 

“Why? I had him right there?” Changbin yelled back, hackles raised.

“One of our engines is down, we have to get away or the heat from the weapons core will melt it and send us to our doom.” Hyunjin explained, fingers flying across the screen. “I’m initiating warp, it’ll hit us hard, but it's our only chance of escaping.”

“Fuck,” Changbin swore, before continuing, “Alright, hit it Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin started the count down, hand posed over the button on the screen. 

“Ready? On three….two….one!” Hyunjin yelled, hitting the button. 

The ship zoomed forward, the cockpit filled with bright, white light, as it entered warp. Jisung yelped, the pressure making his body buzz uncomfortably. After a few moments, the ship slowed to a stop, dropping out of warp. 

All three of them sighed in relief. Hyunjin checked his screen, scanning the area for any ships. 

“We got away, thankfully,” Hyunjin sighed, “I have no idea how they found us but we better be careful now.”

Changbin nodded, head leaning back on his chair. Jisung breathed in and out, the fear in his veins slowly disappearing. He looked up, taking in the black expanse of space and the glittering stars. 

“Where are we, Hyunjin?” Changbin breathed out, adrenaline finally wearing off. 

Hyunjin hummed, scanning the closest celestial bodies and stars before answering.

“The Tafra sector of the Cambrian galaxy,” Hyunjin answered, “We should land on Faxra, check the status of the ship, and fix the weapons core.”

Changbin nodded. “Alright, set course.”

After Changbin said those words he exited out of the cockpit, without so much as a glance at Hyunjin. Hyunjin went to work on setting the course. Jisung sat there, a frown marring his face. It seemed there would be no easy way, to fix what had been done.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's that! next chapter will actually not be for awhile, which i apologize for :(. I've recently had a slew of panic attacks and that has affected my mental state and school work severely, as well as my motivation and creativity. 
> 
> I hope all my readers will wait patiently for the next chapter in the near future! 
> 
> thank you for reading, here's my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) and my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola)! Drop by if you have questions, or if you wanna check out how i'm doing. 
> 
> have a good day, evening, or night! seeya soon! ;) <3


	8. Lunar Eclipses of the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! its been awhile, but i'm finally back with the eighth chapter of MWT! thank you for all the kind words you've sent me, i have been doing a lot better since i last posted, but i'm still struggling a bit. Its a little shorter than previous ones, but I felt like all the necessary scenes were in place here. 
> 
> please see the ending notes for more info, and let's get on with the new chapter!!!!

Jisung sighs, head resting against the glass as he stares out into space. So much has happened in the last few days, that he’s still trying to process everything. He watches stars and comets and planets whizz by the window. It’s so peaceful out there, more calmer and tranquil than the suffocating atmosphere on the ship. 

It’s hard to watch them, avoid each other. Jisung feels out of place, like he doesn’t fit. This is between Hyunjin and Changbin, but he feels at fault for all of this. Would Hyunjin have ever found out about the folder, if Jisung hadn’t come? Would they still go on as themselves, Jin and Spear.B, hiding behind those fake identities that both tried so hard to grasp onto? He wonders what would’ve happened, if he had just stayed. If he had just gone on with the wedding, given up his freedom, his life. 

Yet in the back of his head he hears a voice, small, but strong in conviction. 

_ But then you’d have never met Hyunjin, or Minho. Never have seen Felix again, or more importantly, met Changbin.  _

He sighs, looking down and closing his eyes. His hands lay limply in his lap, colourful beaded and string bracelets adorn his frail wrists. With a deep inhale, Jisung’s eyes shoot open, hands clenched into fists. 

No, he had made the right decision, and no matter the consequences now, he would see this to the end. Jisung got up from the window seat, heart set out on fixing the bond between Hyunjin and Changbin. He walked down the hallways determined to get the two to make up to each other. 

He understood both sides, to a degree. Jisung understood why Changbin had done it. Why he had wanted to redeem himself for something that although wasn’t his fault, yet still felt like it was. Changbin was haunted by the fact that he felt like he didn’t do enough, and Jisung knew what that felt like. He also knew that Hyunjin wasn't mad at Changbin, he was just disappointed, hurt. The one person he trusted more than anything, as Hyunjin and as Jin, had lied about who and what he was. Jisung had been lied to by many people whom he’d trusted, so he could understand what Hyunjin was feeling. He knew these would be no easy wounds to heal, but he was willing to get them off on the right foot, first. 

Jisung stops before the door of the cockpit, fingers clenching and unclenching as he breathes out deeply. With a determined huff, he opened the door and strode onto the deck. He blinks, Changbin nor Hyunjin nowhere in sight. Jisung pouts, crossing his arms. He should’ve expected it, really. Nothing was ever that easy. 

Just as he was contemplating on whether to look for Changbin or wake Hyunjin up, the AI pops up before him. With a tiny yelp, Jisung steps back, before smiling at Hyunjin.

_ “Good morning, Hyunjin!”  _ Jisung greets him, watching the other carefully. 

Hyunjin gives him a small smile in return, a little forced, a little sad. 

“Morning Jisung, I take it you slept well?” Hyunjin asks, as he walks towards the console to check their course. 

Jisung follows the other to the dashboard, watching Hyunjin type away. 

_ “Mmhm,” _ He nods, rocking back on his feet, hands clasped behind him. 

They stand there in companionable silence, Jisung trying to figure out how to start, when Hyunjin speaks. 

“You know, it’s not your fault, right?” 

Jisung’s mouth slams closed, eyes blinking as he takes in the words. 

Jisung kicks the floor, shoe scuffing as he answers. 

_ “I know,” _ He says. 

Hyunjin turns and smiles at him, before reaching out and placing his hand on Jisung’s shoulder. He goes right through Jisung, and he watches as Hyunjin’s face breaks, before collecting himself.

_ “Hyunjin-” _ Jisung starts, wanting to comfort the AI, when Hyunjin shakes his head sorrowfully. 

“It’s fine, Jisung, I just, forgot. That’s all.” He murmurs, staring down at his hands. 

They flicker, small lines of code running through them. Jisung purses his lips, mouth opening again but closing when Hyunjin smiles forcefully.

“Why don’t you go and find Changbin, huh? We’re pretty close to Faxra, he’d want to know.” Hyunjin explains, avoiding the sympathy in the young prince's eyes.

Jisung stands there for a second, before nodding.

_ “Okay,”  _ Jisung says simply, slowly turning around and walking to the door. 

He stops at the door briefly, sliding open with a swoosh of air. Jisung looks behind him, and feels his heart curl at the sight of Hyunjin’s back, hunched and insecure. With a little sigh, he leaves. 

Changbin sighs, for the upteenth time in the past 5 minutes. He’s in the bounty room, scrolling mindlessly through the dark web. His mind keeps flashing back to Jin-no, Hyunjin. He had seemed so, real. His emotions were vibrant, explosive as he confronted him. He’d never seen an AI like that before. But he was just a copy, wasn’t he? He wasn’t really his childhood best friend, whom he had considered a brother for most of his life. 

It was just a program, a program with Hyunjin’s memories, likeness, habits, ticks, and-

Changbin slammed his hands down on the table, jostling some of the monitors. He takes a shaky breath, before opening up a COMM link. The loading screen appears, a little ring appearing. It swirls in place for a few seconds, before a familiar face pops up on screen. 

_ “Well, I’ll be damned, this is the first time Seo Changbin has ever called me,”  _ Minho said, a wiry smile on his lips. 

The smile fades when he notices how closed off Changbin looks. He sits up, leaning towards the screen in concern before speaking. 

_ “Hey, what’s up?”  _

Changbin looks down at his hands, before he tells Minho about everything. 

Minho sits and listens, he doesn’t interject, doesn’t make any remarks. He just sits there, quietly digesting the information. When Changbin is done, Minho sits back in his chair. He looks off camera for a bit, before looking back at Changbin. 

_ “Well, shit.” _ Minho softly exclaims.

Changbin breaks out into a dry chuckle, before his face falls again. He rubs his hands against his face in exasperation.

“I don’t know what to do, Minho.” Changbin says, lowering his hands into his lap again. “AI is AI, there’s no way around it, but he seems so  _ real _ .” 

Minho chuckles.  _ “AI are real, Changbin. They’re just different from us.” _

Changbin shook his head. “No, this is different, he’s like a copy, he’s not the real Hyunjin.”

Minho purses his lips, thinking for a few seconds. 

_ “Give me a copy of Hyunjin’s data.” _

Changbin’s eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. 

“Why?” Changbin asks, leaning forward and staring inquisitively at Minho.

_ “Let me run some tests, do a few diagnostics,” _ Minho explained, tapping on the keyboard in front of him,  _ “I was making something originally for him, and noticed a few discrepancies in his code, I want to check them out.” _

“What are you up to, Minho?”

Minho smiles secretively at the other, before returning to what he was doing. Changbin just sighs, before opening a drawer in the desk. He procures a hard drive, and sticks it into the console. 

“Fine,” He says, watching as the file uploads itself to Minho’s console light years away. “You better have an explanation for me after this is over with.”

Minho smiles. 

_ “I will.”  _ He says, before looking up at Changbin, _ “Oh, and Changbin? Don’t be afraid to take a chance, okay?” _

Changbin bit his lip, before nodding slowly at Minho’s words. 

If it was only that easy.

Hyunjin stands at the map, eyes breezing over the coordinates and routes laid out before him. He crosses his arms, before uncrossing them, staring at his body in confusion and pain. He can’t really feel touch or sensation, but when he touches holograms, like his own body, he feels a spark of electricity. Was it phantom pain? A ghost of something he once had, but had now lost forever? No, it couldn’t be, he was an AI, he wasn’t Hyunjin at all. Just a program made to look and speak and  _ remember _ like-

“Like me,” He whispers, eyes scrunched in confusion. 

Suddenly, it’s painful. His head feels like it's splitting open, which is impossible. He has no real body, he's not real, he was never real in the first place. But Hyunjin can’t help but fall to his knees and clutch at his head. 

“Who-? What-?” He chokes out. 

He curls into himself, cradling his head in his arms. He tucks his chin against his chest, breathing heavily although it’s just a design choice. He will never breathe again.

If Hyunjin had looked up, he’d have seen the glitching tears flowing down his face. 

Jisung taps his fingers against the armrest of the navigator’s chair. He’s uncomfortable. It’s stifling, the aura around the pair. They do their jobs as usual, but with less of their usual brotherly banter and camaraderie. Hyunjin seems more distant than this morning. He bites his lip, watching the AI with ever growing worry, before his eyes slide over to Changbin. 

Changbin, doesn’t look any better. He’s exhausted looking, black bags under his eyes, his jaw always clenched. Jisung has caught him sighing more than once in the past few minutes since they got a visual of Faxra. His body is defensive, high-strung and on alert. Jisung wants everything to return to how it was before, but he knows that childish notion is not possible.

So he waits, watching them with careful eyes, hoping that one would break first. There’s a jolt, as they enter the atmosphere of Faxra. They’ve hidden the ship’s ID as another to keep Kalurian and Golxian troops off their trail just for a bit. Jisung tries to find joy in this part, he likes the brief feeling of being weightless as they push through the atmosphere, before abruptly gliding to a stop. He always likes that part when the impact of the atmosphere turns into the colour of the sky. 

But Jisung finds no joy in it, even when he notices the sky is more green than blue. The surface of the planet is lush and green, full of mountains and valleys and streams. Jisung’s eyes glaze over them, the excitement he would’ve felt upon seeing a new planet, dampened by the moods of the other two.

Jisung flicked his eyes over to Changbin, who sat in the pilot’s chair as usual. He’s focused, hands gripping the wheel firmly, as he pilots the ship to their landing spot. Instead of docking in the town, they were parking the ship on the outskirts. They were trying to get as much attention off of them as they could. Now that the Golxians and Kalurians were actually working together, they seemed to be more competent, which proved deadly for them. 

The ship groans and settles down on a clear patch of grass, a few miles out from the town. Through the windshield, Jisung can make out the shape of a cluster of buildings. 

“I’ll go alone this time, less attention will be drawn to us, and Jisung will be safer here,” Changbin said, unbuckling himself and standing up. 

Jisung protested, hands fumbling with the buckles, but stopped when Hyunjin shook his head. Jisung frowned, but nodded his assent when Changbin looked back for approval. 

“How much of the generator can withstand cloaking the ship?” Changbin asked as he picked up his usual black backpack, slinging it over his one shoulder. 

“Just enough for about 3 hours, after that, we’re as plain as day.” Hyunjin responded, tapping on the screen as he set the cloak up. 

“Okay, keep him safe, Hyunjin,” Changbin said, as he walked out the door. 

Hyunjin nodded, watching the other leave, with heavy eyes. 

Changbin took the elevator to the hangar, feet moving quickly as he walked over to a tarp covered object. He pulled the tarp off, revealing a stark black cyclone bike. Changbin kicked the stand out of place, throwing his leg over the vehicle. He turned around, grabbing the helmet and securing it over his head. 

He huffed, cocking his head, before starting the bike. 

The hangar doors began to open, slowly rising up. Changbin revved the bike, before cruising out of the hangar. He righted himself, spotting a dirt road not far from the ship. He turned to look behind him, watching as the ship began to fade from view. As the hangar door closed, Changbin took off towards the road.

Jisung sighed, watching as Changbin sped off through the windshield. A frown marred his face, hoping that Changbin would come back safe, and unharmed. He turned around to see Hyunjin, standing at the map, as he always did. He was plotting courses, from the looks of it, but his eyes seemed to be looking at something else. Jisung huffed, folding his arms behind his back. He walked over to the console on the side, and decided that looking through the extensive database would be a good time consumer.

Jisung presses the spacebar, watching as the screen lights up. He begins typing random words into the search bar, anything to get his mind off the turmoil in his chest. He ends up watching some sort of film, a human made film. He’s not really invested in it, but near the end, he perks up. He watches, listening to the male protagonist confess his love for the female protagonist. He gives a long speech, Jisung hanging onto every word that comes from the actor's mouth. When it's over, Jisung leans back on his hands a bit, thinking in silence. 

It’d be nice to have someone confess to him. He’d wonder what it’d be like. And he wonders so hard, letting his mind slip away that the face that appears before his mind makes him blush. 

Suddenly, Changbin is holding him again, like the time he rescued him from the guards. They’re inches away from each other’s faces, and Jisung watches and Changbin slowly tilts his head, lips coming closer and-

Jisung immediately stands up, hands clasping his reddening face. He scurries out the cockpit door, Hyunjin watching him curiously as he disappears down the corridors into the ship. 

“Huh, wonder what that was about…?” Hyunjin murmurs, before turning back to the map.

Changbin skids to a stop, parking his bike amongst speeders and mopeds. He dismounts, kicking the stand into place before pulling the helmet off his head. Changbin brushes his bangs off his forehead, now wet with sweat from the heat. He places the helmet in the compartment in the back, before procuring a baseball cap from it and placing it on his head, instead. He turns around, briefly checking the time before heading off down the street. 

The ship needs a new Flux core. And some new Atra wires, with Blask circuits. It doesn’t take him long to find a parts shop for ships. Few streets over from where he parked is a small but very capable looking shop. Changbin finds all the parts he needs without hassle. 

He’s walking back to where he parked his bike, when his TransCOMM begins to beep. With a quizzical look, Changbin taps the device lodged in his ear, and watches as a live feed projects itself in front of his face. 

_ “Long time no see, Spear.B,”  _ The voice says. 

Changbin huffs out a laugh before responding. “Fucking hell, I thought you’d gone off the face of the universe, Wooyoung.” 

Wooyoung, a pretty, slim faced, but sharp man with impeccably styled purple hair, laughs. 

_ “Well, you know, pirates are a little different than bounty hunters.”  _ Wooyoung snarks back, but with a friendly glint in his eyes. 

“Asshole,” Changbin mutters with a smile, shaking his head at the other. 

_ “Heard you were in trouble, didn’t know stealing princes was your thing?”  _ Wooyoung chirped, a cheeky smiling resting on his face. 

“First off, it was an accident, second off, you still haven’t learned when to shut up, have you?” 

Wooyoung laughs before answering.  _ “Hey, you didn’t deny the stealing part though,” _

Changbin sighed, ruffling his hair as he smiled exasperated at the other. 

“Yeah, I am in a bit of trouble, why though?” Changbin said, a curious look plastered on his face.

Wooyoung turned serious, a sudden calm taking over his features. 

_ “Captain said we should help you out,”  _ Wooyoung said, dark eyes glinting,  _ “And I thought, ‘Well, why not? We haven’t fought any royal armies as of late, have we’?”  _

Changbin chuckled, shaking his head at Wooyoung’s words. 

“You’re always raring for trouble, aren’t ya?” Changbin snorted, watching as Wooyoung’s face eased up and a smile broke through.

_ “You know me too well,”  _ Wooyoung laughed, before speaking again,  _ “Anyways, Captain wants you to head to Galade, I’ll send you the exact coordinates, as we won’t be heading towards any major cities.” _

“Alright then, I’ll take any help I can get right now.” Changbin said, already watching the coordinates be downloaded into his TransCOMM. 

_ “Seeya on Galade, B.”  _ Wooyoung said, smiling and flashing a peace sign before the feed blipped out. 

Changbin found himself smiling, maybe there was hope for them yet. 

Jisung finds himself a couple hours later on the observation deck of the ship. He’s laying on his back, looking up at the bright blue-green sky. Twin sun’s twinkle in the corner of the sky, small bulbs of light. He had hoped that the blankness of the clear sky would be enough to drown out the thoughts that led him up here to begin with. But they stayed ringing in his head. Jisung huffed, this wasn’t the time for this, these feelings. He had bigger things to worry about, like getting Hyunjin and Changbin to make up, and escaping the Golxian and Kalurian troops. 

He couldn’t afford to fall in l-

Jisung abruptly sat up, violently shaking his head. He wasn’t going to admit that, not yet, at least. When this was all said and done, and everyone, except himself, went back to their own lives, he’d admit it. 

After all, Changbin did not feel the same way, did he?

Jisung flops back onto the floor, closing his eyes and breathing softly through his nose. He lets the hum of the ship lull him into a soft daze, that is only permeated later by footsteps coming closer to him. They stop right by his head, Jisung shifting a bit at the presence. 

He slowly opens his eyes, and sees the object of his stress. Changbin looks down at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised as he stares. There’s a black baseball cap on his head, seemingly blending in now with the blackness of space. 

Jisung blinks, when had they left Faxra? He must’ve fallen asleep, tired of thinking of the events previous. He hadn’t slept as well as he said he did when Hyunjin had asked him that morning. Having spent the night trying to figure out why the navigator’s chair seemed so cramped and uncomfortable.

“Hyunjin mentioned this might be where you were,” Changbin says nonchalantly, “You really like it up here, huh?”

Jisung, still waking up, nods. 

Changbin’s mouth lifts up at the corner. In one second, Changbin is lying down beside him, a few inches between their bodies. Jisung breathes out shakily, not used to Changbin being so, close. 

He turns to look at Changbin. The soft light of the stars reflects off his eyes, making them look bright and childlike. He sees wonder and awe still held in those orbs, faintly trickling back in. 

“Back on home, when I’d look up to the sky at night, I’d name all the constellations I knew.” Changbin murmured softly, eyes flickering as he gazed at the space above them.

Changbin turns to Jisung.

“We lived in a small town, as I’ve told you before, one where there was still so little light pollution, that you could still see the stars in the sky at night.”

Jisung stared, a question blooming on his lips.  _ “What are ‘constellations’?” _

He says the last word in English, it slightly foreign on his tongue. Changbin smiles softly at Jisung’s question. 

“Ancient humans once looked up at the sky, and what they saw were pictures that certain clusters of stars made. Those clusters were known as constellations.” 

Jisung’s mouth opened slightly in understanding. He looked back up at the speckled expanse of space, eyes flickering across the mess of stars. 

_ “That looks like a cat,” _ Jisung said suddenly, hand lifting up and pointing at a certain cluster of stars.

Changbin moved closer to Jisung, resting his head against Jisung’s in an attempt to see what the other was seeing. Jisung’s breath hitched, skin prickling at the contact and tingling with a buzz. Changbin’s shoulder brushed against his, Jisung’s cheeks colouring a rose colour.

Unknown to Changbin, and with hawk-like eyes, he easily picked out the image Jisung was alluding to. He chuckled, a small smile on his lips. 

“It kinda does,” Changbin said. 

Jisung smiled, whipping his head back to look up at the stars and pick out more images. They laid like that for hours, Changbin telling him about the different constellations that would appear in the sky on his homeworld. He’d tell Jisung their names, and their stories. How there was a star, that humans dubbed the North Star, a star that always pointed north, as it stood directly atop of the planet’s north pole. How the constellation Andromeda, was actually an ancient human, immortalized in the sky by an ancient goddess, as the story goes.

Jisung listens intently, a smile on his face as he watches a joy spark inside Changbin’s voice and eyes. Changbin’s voice is soothing, and sooner than later, he finds himself drifting off to a story about Ursa Minor and Ursa Major.

Changbin doesn’t notice for a few minutes, not until he finishes the story, and hears a soft snore to his right. He turns his head, a soft smile appearing on his face at Jisung’s peaceful state. Sitting up, he reaches a hand out to brush a soft curl of hair off his forehead. He drifts his hand down to Jisung’s cheek, softly brushing it with the back of his hand. Changbin freezes, when Jisung shifts in his sleep, body curling into a ball. He feels a soft breath flow from the other’s pink lips, and then the soft sounds of words. 

_ “Changbin, thank you,”  _ Jisung mutters in his sleep.

Changbin stares down at the sleeping prince, heart pounding in his ears at the words. He removes his hand, resting it in his lap as he turns to look back at the stars.

“Maybe Minho is right,” He murmurs to himself, as he lies back down, his own eyes slowly drifting closed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are a bit grim, but there's a faint light still there for our heroes! the next few chaps will be bumpy, and stuff will be heating up even more! also, can you guess who wooyoung is??? i haven't tagged him yet cause i want to see which group people think he's from, first. ;)
> 
> as in the note before, i told you i had to take a break because of my mental health. to let you all know, i've had anxiety (general and social) since i was a child, and depression since I was 10. my mental health is a big part of who I am, and affects me daily still. its something I unfortunately will never get rid of, but have to learn to live with for the rest of my life. 
> 
> i am super grateful to all that sent me kind words and wished me well, and have stuck with this story. writing is my world, my life, and something i once thought was the only good thing i could do. 
> 
> so to have at least 83 kudos on this work, is something little 10 year old would have never dreamed of. to have people enjoy it, is something i never thought could happen. 
> 
> haha, guess i got a little too sentimental, but each one of my readers is very dear to me, and makes me want to strive to be a better storyteller for you all. 
> 
> thank you so much! 
> 
> as always, kudos and comments are much appreciated, here's my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola), if you're a little shy, and my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) if you want to say hello!
> 
> Just like before, have a good evening, night or day! <3


	9. Black Holes and the Dark Matter of Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo everyone! i hope you're all doing good, considering what's been going on these past few days. :( if anyone just needs to rant i'd be happy to lend an ear to anyone who needs it! 
> 
> i've decided to post this chapter now in hopes that it will bring a little comfort and joy to some of my readers who are directly affected. 
> 
> though this chapter isn't the lightest, it does have a hopeful spark to it, that i hope resonates with you all. 
> 
> kudos and comments are appreciated!

Nothing. No luck, no progress. Jisung hasn’t been able to get the two friends to even so much as look at one another as they speak for the briefest of moments. He feels hopeless. How long was this going to go on for? How long would they deny themselves the simple comfort of each other’s presence? 

And how long could Jisung stand to see them like this? 

Jisung sighed, head resting against the headrest of the navigators’ chair as he looked out into the blackness of space. He watched a myriad of colours flash by as they passed nurseries for stars and planets. 

The ship was cold, empty almost. Hyunjin wasn’t as present as he used to be, and Changbin hid out in the bounty room for hours on end. Jisung was alone. He knew the two weren’t ignoring him on purpose. He knew that they needed time and space. But drifting in space for about a week since they left Faxra? That was getting a little much. 

Jisung huffed, resting his head on the palm of his hand as he stared out the windshield. It's quiet, only the hum of the ship and the whirring of the engines the only sounds he hears. For now.

Suddenly, a small, urgent beeping noise permeates the stillness in the cockpit. Jisung jumps, head twisting around as he tries to find the source of it. His eyes finally zeroed in on the console he would spend most of his time at, now. 

Jisung tentatively gets up, inching closer to the console. The blinking screen lights up his face in a luminous blue. On the screen, is a small little envelope icon blinking rapidly at him. Jisung bites his lip. Should he open it? What if it was the guard ships after them, or worse, the king?

Throwing caution to the wind, Jisung taps the envelope and watches as a video feed opens up. 

He recognizes the voice first, before the image. 

_ “Ah, you finally picked up!”  _ The velvet voice exclaims. 

Jisung perks up, sitting down on the bench in front of the console. 

_ “F-Felix? What-Why-?”  _ He stammers out, watching as the picture clears and the sight of his best friend enters the screen. 

_ “Hiya, Ji. How’ve you been?”  _ Felix asks softly, a fond look in his eyes as he looks at his best friend. 

Jisung smiles wide, before it falters. Felix notices the sudden shift in Jisung’s mood quickly, patiently waiting for his friend to explain himself. 

_ “I’m-I’m good, but, Hyunjin and Changbin could be better…”  _ Jisung murmurs out, voice laced with sadness.

Felix scrunches his face up.  _ “Hyunjin-?” _

JIsung perks up, quickly explaining himself. 

_ “Ah! Yes, Hyunjin is Changbin’s ship AI,”  _ Jisung explained, watching as understanding washed over Felix’s face.

_ “What happened?”  _ Felix asked, searching his friend's face for answers. 

With a heavy sigh, Jisung tries his best to explain what had happened on the ship about a week and half ago. Felix listens intently, like a good friend, nodding his head and sympathizing with the other.

_ “That’s horrible,” _ Felix said, voice rough with anger,  _ “The Union has been trying to shut down many child soldier rings but we can’t get all of them. To think that’s what Changbin and Hyunjin had to go through? I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the pain and sorrow they must feel.” _

Jisung silently nodded. He felt tears well up, but he willed them back down. 

_ “I just,”  _ Jisung started, voice watery and broken,  _ “I just want them to make-up. They’re practically brothers, and to see both of them so hurt, it breaks my heart.”  _

Felix nodded, feeling for his friend. They sat there in silence before Felix spoke up. 

_ “Maybe you should try and talk to Hyunjin, first?”  _ Felix surmised, eyes looking off screen as he thought.  _ “I feel like Hyunjin would be easier to get to open up, Changbin seems like a tough one to get to talk about his feelings, what, with all he’s been through.”  _

Jisung nodded, feeling a little better from Felix’s words. Jisung had noticed the longing looks Hyunjin would give the other when he thought no one was looking. He knew Hyunjin missed his friend dearly. Jisung missed seeing them interact, too. 

_ “Ah! This isn’t exactly what I wanted to talk to you about though!”  _ Felix suddenly said, eyes looking brightly at Jisung.  _ “I assure you, everything we talk about on this channel is extremely secure, we got our best coders on the channel right now!” _

Jisung tilted his head at the other in question. 

_ “We’ve found a few odd transmissions between Golxias and Kalur from about the time around when your brother was,”  _ Felix bit his lip, hesitating before continuing on,  _ “When your brother was KIA.”  _

Jisung nodded, trying to ignore the stinging in his heart when he was reminded of his brother. 

_ “What’d they say?”  _ Jisung asked. 

_ “Well, they were heavily coded, so that was a red flag from the start, but our analysts on the ship managed to get the gist of what the conversation was about.”  _ Felix explained.

Jisung leaned closer to the console, afraid of what the other was going to say. 

_ “There had been peace talks, in the works, before your brother was killed,”  _ Felix announced, watching as Jisung’s eyes widened,  _ “But they were scrapped. Why, we haven’t found out yet, but the transmission was made at least two days before the invasion of the Skar space station and right around the time Casfen was crowned.” _

Jisung felt his heart stop. Felix looked at Jisung sadly before continuing on. 

_ “Jisung, Golxias had no intentions of making peace with Kalur,”  _ Felix said, watching as Jisung’s mouth opened in shock. 

_ “B-but, they sent emissaries, I was there, my father was there, my mother, my brother,”  _ Jisung sputtered out,  _ “Why would they-?”  _

Jisung looked torn, unable to comprehend why the Golxians would do such a thing. 

_ “Jisung, Golxias was gunning to win this war,”  _ Felix said, a somber look on his face.

Jisung felt the world tip under him. He braced his hands on the console, trying to ground himself. 

Felix looked at his friend sadly, before speaking. 

_ “I’m sorry, Jisung, but we don’t know anything more than that at the moment,”  _ Felix looked down sadly at his hands,  _ “We don’t know their intentions, their motives, we don’t know anything.” _

Jisung’s head bowed, form shaking as he processed the information. His brother? Was killed? For nothing? Jisung felt the tears sting at the backs on his eyes, but unlike previous times, they would not fall. He could not cry.

He let out a shuddering breath, trying to compose himself. Felix watched helplessly through the screen as his friend’s world shattered beneath him. He wished he could be there for him, but Felix knew he had the duty to find out why this was happening to his planet, and Jisung. He could only rely on Hyunjin and Changbin now, to comfort Jisung. To give him what he could never give his childhood friend. 

Minho sighed, raking a hand through his hair as he watched the loading bar progress slowly on the screen. He’d been picking away at Hyunjin’s code ever since Changbin had sent him a copy of it. The black market surgeon had barely slept, ate or even rested since he had started analyzing the intricacies of Hyunjin, the AI made from the memories of Changbin’s childhood friend. 

At first glance, Hyunjin’s code looked like any other AI. But upon closer inspection, he realized that things, started to not make sense. They way memories were compiled, information was stored, and received, was odd, to say the least. It was, illogical. 

Minho leaned back, waiting for the program to finally finish analyzing when he heard a ping from his screen. Hurriedly picking up his glasses, he tapped the screen and watched a bunch of information fill it. Minho furrowed his eyebrows, this didn’t make any sense, how could this be? He shook his head, leaning back before diving into what his program had found. The first things seemed normal, but like everything else about Hyunjin’s code, it started to get weirder. 

“What the fuck-?” Minho whispered to himself, blinking his eyes twice before scrolling again. 

He paused, rubbing his eyes before looking back at the screen. What Minho had found, was what others, had been trying to do for centuries, but could never achieve. 

Jisung sat curled up on the navigator’s chair again, head resting on his knees as he thought. He drowned in them, memories replaying over and over and over again until he couldn’t take it anymore. Was this how Changbin felt? When he thought about Hyunjin? All this pain, this uselessness burrowing deep down into his bones and mind like a parasite? Was he forced to watch memories replay over and over and over again like him, right now?

He was so deep in thought, that he didn’t notice Hyunjin appear beside him. 

“Deep in thought?” 

Jisung gasped, startled by the other’s appearance. 

Hyunjin chuckled before speaking. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,”

Jisung shook his head.  _ “It’s fine, Hyunjin, I was just thinking.”  _

“I could see that, about what, though?” Hyunjin asked, as he made his way over to the console at the front of the ship and started tapping away. 

Jisung sighed, turning his head to look out the windshield before speaking. 

_ “Felix, my friend in the Galactic Union, contacted me.” _

Hyunjin stopped, turning to the other with wide eyes. 

“What-what’d he say? Any news?” Hyunjin asked frantically, searching Jisung’s face before catching sight of the turmoil wrought in the young prince’s orbs. 

“Jisung, what did Felix tell you?” Hyunjin asked, coming over and kneeling beside the navigator’s chair.

Jisung bit his lip.

_ “You know I’m not the real crown prince, right?”  _ Jisung asked Hyunjin, watching as realization slowly dawned in the other’s eyes.

“I do. Your brother, the real crown prince, was killed in an attack on the Skar space station that orbited your planet.” Hyunjin summarized. “The attack was made by the Golxians.” 

Jisung slowly nodded.  _ “Felix told me, that Golxias had no intentions of peacefully ending this war,” _

Hyunjin’s eyes widened, processing the information as fast as his computer hard drive would allow him. 

“That-That makes no sense?” Hyunjin muttered, standing up and turning around as he thought.

“So they just started a war with the intention of resolving it with force, but instead went with a marriage?” Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would they flip on a dime like that?” 

Jisung shrugged before answering. 

_ “Felix says they were decoding transmissions between Kalur and Golxias, but were unable to get the full story from them as they were heavily encoded.”  _ Jisung said, Hyunjin turning around swiftly to look at the prince. 

Hyunjin placed a hand on his chin in thought, mind browsing through his database at an insane speed.

“I wonder…?” Hyunjin murmured before looking up at Jisung with a thoughtful expression. 

As Hyunjin was about to speak, the door to the cockpit hissed open, and in strode Changbin. He had a determined look on his face, body taunt and ready for something. Jisung perked up, wondering if Changbin had come to finally make amends with Hyunjin. 

“When I was on Faxra, I got transmission from an old friend,” Changbin started, much to Jisung’s disappointment.

Changbin walked right up to the map and started to move the map out and plot a course. Hyunjin, curious, walked over and looked over Changbin’s shoulder.

“Galade…?” Hyunjin murmured, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the destination at the end of the course. “What’s on Galade?”

“Someone who can help,” Changbin said with certainty. “Wooyoung, you remember him, from the Dalta mission?” 

Hyunjin made a face before responding quite blandly. “Ah, yes, him and his ragtag crew of, what were they called? ATEEZ?”

_ “ATEEZ…?” _ Jisung echoed curiously, watching as Changbin looked at him with a small smile on his lips. 

“They’re a group of people, all brought together under one man,” Chanagbin explained, watching as Jisung listened intently, “They don’t follow the bounty hunter credo, nor do they associate with or call themselves bounty hunters.”

Jisung scrunched up his eyebrows.  _ “What are they, then?” _

Changbin grinned. “They’re space pirates.”

Jisung’s eyes twinkled, while Hyunjin rolled his eyes behind Changbin in disbelief. 

“The first time I heard that I thought they were joking, and then I noticed the manic look in their eyes and realized they weren’t,” Hyunjin chimed in, watching as Jisung turned to the other.

_ “I think it's cool,” _ Jisung mumbled, mouth pouting at Hyunjin’s words. 

Hyunjin smiled fondly at the young prince. His innocence and naivety was a breath of fresh air in his normally sarcastic world. 

“They ransack ships, primarily ones that have been taken over by the bad kind of space pirates, the ones who pillage and take what they want.” Changbin continued to explain. “They're a little reckless, a little crazy, but they got their souls in the right place, at least. I believe they’ll be able to help us evade the troops after us.”

Jisung’s eyes brightened at Changbin’s words. 

_ “Really?!” _ He asked breathlessly, watching as Changbin nodded at the other. 

Hyunjin pondered over the map, his mind running through various outcomes. With a sigh, he spoke.

“Alright, I agree,” Hyunjin said, only to put his hand up when Jisung turned to him excitedly, “Only! Only because we really have no other options at the moment.”

Jisung jumped up from his chair, punching the air with his fist in excitement, he’d never met space pirates before....

Changbin smiled at Jisung, who beamed brightly back at him. Hyunjin watched their interaction with a gentle smile, wanting nothing but for the two of them to be happy. 

Changbin left shortly after, saying he had to contact Wooyoung to tell him they were on their way. That left Jisung with Hyunjin, who quietly stood at the map, a thoughtful expression sitting on his face. 

Jisung hummed, excited about meeting actual space pirates. He felt like a child again, and the thought made him happy. He was broken from his thoughts when Hyunjin cleared his throat gently, causing the prince to look up at the other. 

Jisung cocked his head to the side, curious of the other’s sudden timid demeanour. He waited patiently, as Hyunjin fidgeted, opening and closing his mouth, before sighing in frustration and coming right out and saying it. 

“I want Changbin to be happy,” Hyunjin started, startling Jisung who peered at him curiously.

Hyunjin walked forward until he was standing right in front of the younger one. He kneeled down on one knee, looking at the other with a serious expression. Hesitating slightly, Hyunjin raised his arm and placed it over top of Jisung’s hand. 

“And you make him happy, Jisung, the happiest I’ve ever seen him,” Hyunjin explained, watching as Jisung flushed. 

_ “I-I-what? Hyunjin what are you-?”  _ Jisung stammered only to be cut off by a dry look from Hyunjin. 

“You’re not very subtle, Jisung,” Hyunjin deadpanned, watching as Jisung turned a darker shade of red.

Jisung fidgeted in his seat, clearly embarrassed that Hyunjin had seen right through him. 

Hyunjin sighed, before continuing on. 

“Look, I’m still mad at Changbin, I am. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want him to be  _ happy _ , Jisung.” Hyunjin murmured softly, looking at the other. “I’ll probably be mad for a little while, and while I am hurt, I know I could never stay mad at him for long.”

Hyunjin smirked a little. “I could never stay mad at him for long when we were little, anyways.”

Jisung watched, silent but happy that Hyunjin was opening up to him. 

Hyunjin looked back at Jisung, a serious look painting his features, now. 

“Changbin won’t do anything unless  _ you _ do it, Jisung,” Hyunjin said, watching as Jisung’s eyes flicked downward, “He’s been hurt before, he thinks he doesn’t deserve you, I can  _ see  _ it. But he does deserve you, he’s always deserved someone, and I’d be so happy, if it was you.”

Jisung, smiling nervously, looked up at Hyunjin and spoke. 

_ “Y-You really think so?”  _ Jisung said, nervous, but with a quiet kind of excitement still laced in his words. 

Hyunjin smiled warmly at him, nodding his head. 

“I do,” Hyunjin says, watching fondly as a wide smile blooms across Jisung’s face.

Jisung giggled, happy at the thought that Changbin liked him back. 

_ “Okay, I’ll talk to him,” _ Jisung said, standing up and walking towards the door. He stopped though, much to Hyunjin’s confusion. Jisung turned around and quickly walked over to Hyunjin. Leaning down, Jisung held his arms out around Hyunjin’s flickering form in a hug, a content smile on his face. Hyunjin’s eyes widened, surprised by Jisung’s gesture. 

_ “Thank you, Hyunjin.” _ Jisung said, before moving away. 

Hyunjin sat frozen on the floor, watching as Jisung skipped away and out of the cockpit. 

WIth a small shake of his head, Hyunjin smiled. 

“No, thank you, Jisung.”

Changbin ruffled his hair, sitting back on his bed with a sigh. He looked over to the window, the stars rushing past in a flurry of light. 

He looked over to his desk, now cluttered with trinkets and items that Jisung had taken a liking to. The crystal that Changbin had given him sat on top of it’s little wooden box, faintly glowing. More coloured bracelets, beaded, string and metal, laid out over the desk in a colourful clutter. 

Jisung. Pretty, kind, selfless, sweet, Jisung. 

With a groan, Changbin flopped over onto his side, eyes staring at the mess with a turbulent look in his eyes. He thought back to what Minho had said, his mind now torn between wanting to give in and wanting to run away. Changbin wanted to be with Jisung, but his mind was bigger than his heart, he knew that. He shied away from possible hurt and pain, it’s why he didn’t restore Hyunjin’s memories. Why he didn’t face his demons, locked away deep in his head. Why Jisung, would only be a dream to him. 

The younger was untouchable to him, and not because he was a prince, no, that didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was Jisung himself, who was brighter than any star in any solar system that Changbin had been in. 

Changbin, wasn’t a live star. He wasn't even a dying one, he was already dead. A black dwarf, already cooled until they no longer shined any sort of light. That’s what he was. Jisung was a star in his prime, bright and luminescent. Giving life and light to many planets already caught in his grasp. 

He couldn’t bear to dim him, any further than he’d already been dimmed by other people. With a tired sigh, Changbin rolled over, staring up at the steel-gray ceiling above his bed. He threw his left arm over his eyes, covering his world in darkness. Changbin let the sounds of the ship lull him into a trance, until a soft tapping noise broke him from his state. 

Changbin looked to his right, noticing Jisung standing at his bedroom door. His bottom lip was pulled in between his teeth, eyes holding hints of anxiety and fear, along with something brighter. 

Changbin removed his arm from his face, slowly getting up into a sitting position. He placed his hand beside him, the other resting in his lap as he looked at Jisung fully. 

“What’s up?” Changbin rasped out, watching as Jisung chewed at his lip harder. 

His hands were fumbling around behind his back, feet scoffing at the floor before he spoke up.

_ “Can-? Can we talk?”  _ Jisung asked, voice soft, almost as if he was talking to a scared animal. 

Changbin felt warning bells go off in his head, but he shoved the feeling down, gulping nervously as he nodded. 

“Sure, what do you want to talk about?” Changbin asked, trying not to let the fear he was feeling be detected in his voice. 

Jisung slowly walked over, hesitating slightly, before sitting down on the bed beside Changbin. The bounty hunter’s breath caught in his throat, still not used to Jisung being so close. 

Changbin turned to look at Jisung, surprising himself when he noticed the other’s bright blue eyes already trained on him. Jisung had a glint in his eyes, one that set a fire raging in Changbin’s stomach. Jisung didn’t look nervous or scared anymore, no, he looked determined.

Gulping again, Changbin opened his mouth only to be cut off by Jisung. 

_ “Felix contacted me, _ ” Jisung said, the nervousness in Changbin’s stomach dispersing at the words and leaving an empty feeling.  _ “He said that Golxias wasn’t originally going to peacefully resolve conflict with my homeworld.” _

Changbin scoffed. “Of course they weren’t. Did you see how they treated you when they caught us on Kilgar?” 

Jisung frowned.  _ “My brother was killed for nothing, then.”  _

Changbin looked over at Jisung, who wore a depressed expression on his face. 

“A lot of people are killed for nothing, Jisung.” Changbin murmured to himself, not expecting Jisung to hear him. 

_ “I know,”  _ Jisung says, turning to face Changbin fully on the bed. 

He propped one leg up onto the bed, his face full of determination again. Changbin felt his barriers crack as Jisung looked at him, his once carefully constructed and fortified walls were now beginning to crumble around him. Just because of one young little prince.

_ “Hyunjin knows too, Felix knows, Captain Chan knows too, as well,”  _ Jisung says, eyes sparking with a fire in them as he spoke.  _ “And I know you know too.” _

Jisung inched closer to Changbin, who flinched a little when Jisung came too close. But Jisung did not waver. 

_ “That’s why it's okay, Changbin. It's okay to feel things, and it's okay to want things.”  _ Jisung softly uttered, eyes twinkling like sapphire gemstones.  _ “Even when you think you’re undeserving of them, that’s when you’re allowed to want them most.” _

Changbin blinked, watching astonished as Jisung ripped down what he once was, in just a few words. Jisung just stepped through his castle walls, riddled with cracks and bursting at the seams now. Without any fear, Jisung jumped into the chasm that was Seo Changbin. 

The older one let out a shuddering breath, before speaking.

“You ever, kill someone? And not hate it?” Changbin asked.

It was a rhetorical question, one Jisung didn’t answer as Changbin finally bared his heart to him. 

“I’ve killed a lot of people; Rasfarians, Crystix, Calrusians, even my own kind.” Changbin’s voice didn’t waver as he spoke, the heavy pressure weighing against his chest alleviating as each word was spoken. 

“Most of them for money, some of them so that maybe, just maybe, they’d kill me.” Changbin admitted, a sour taste in his mouth. “I wanted to die, Jisung, but I was too good at everything I did.”

Changbin chuckled humorlessly. “One little human, practically inferior to every other life form in the universe, becomes the universe’s most wanted criminal. Ain’t life funny like that?”

Jisung watched silently, wanting to hear everything that Changbin was keeping locked up inside his head. 

“I can’t sleep, most nights.” Changbin said, looking off to the side. “I still get those memories, those dreams, those  _ nightmares _ , every time I close my eyes. I see it.” 

Changbin looked back at Jisung, almost looking as young as he did when he killed his first person. Jisung reached out for Changbin’s face, hand brushing against the skin. Changbin didn’t move, just quietly watched, and took Jisung’s comforting hand with a sigh. 

_ “What do you see?” _ Jisung murmured quietly, wanting Changbin to continue, to know that Jisung wasn't going to leave when he spilled his maggot-infested thoughts all over the floor. __

“ _ Everything. _ I see everything; Hyunjin, my mother, my brother, Hyunjin’s parents, the faces of people I’ve killed, and of the people who only wanted to help but whom I scorned.” Changbin confessed, voice unsteady as he spoke. “I see you, in all your innocent and selfless glory, rip open a dead man, and show him he has something to live for, again.” 

Jisung leaned his forehead against Changbin’s, voice feather light as he spoke. 

_ “You’ve always had something to live for, you just had to find it.”  _

Changbin swallowed, staring it Jisung’s gold-speckled eyes, searching for the answer he was looking for, craving for.

_ “And I found mine. Did you find yours, Changbin?”  _ Jisung asked.

Changbin breathed out slowly. 

_ Yes, _ he thought,  _ Yes, I think I did. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you found some much needed relief or joy in this chapter, and i hope to get the next chapter out soon as well! we're pretty close to the climax, so get ready! 
> 
> if you want to keep up with me or just talk, come visit my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables), or if you're shy, here's my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola).
> 
> remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint, don't wear yourself out trying to help as quick as possible. educate yourself, your family and friends, and use your voice for change. i've been signing petitions and educating myself, wanting to grow so that i can help as much as i can. 
> 
> to all my readers, have a good day, evening, or night, and love you all so much! <3


	10. Swallow Me Whole Like A Supernova

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! finally. after so many weeks of just screaming at my laptop and writing everything else but this, i present to you, the 10th chapter of MWT!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!
> 
> guys, you don't know how hard this chapter was to write and piece together i'm surprised i haven't gone insane from this. (｡T ω T｡) 
> 
> anyways, pls enjoy the tenth chapter, comments and kudos are appreciated!!!!! <3

Changbin blinked awake, eyes staring at the chrome ceiling of his room. He shifted, before noticing the presence of someone beside him. He turned his head, seeing Jisung curled up on his side. 

He looks peaceful, soft puffs of air releasing from his mouth as he sleeps. Changbin’s mouth lifts at the corners, a hand coming up to thread his fingers through Jisung’s soft hair. The action causes Jisung to stir, but he does not awaken. 

Changbin rests his head back on the pillow, eyes slowly closing again. He continues to pet Jisung’s hair, golden strands as soft as silk. He doesn’t know how long they lay like this, in blissful silence, but soon, he feels the bed shift beside him. 

His eyes open to Jisung sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He stretches his arms above his head, mouth opening in a big yawn. Changbin watches as he surveys the area around him, before his bright blue eyes fall on him. Almost immediately, Jisung flushes red, embarrassed by the fond look that Changbin gives him. 

Jisung quickly looks away, mind whirring with a thousand thoughts. Had they fallen asleep together, in the same bed? He feels his cheeks warm more, that previous bravado from the night before nowhere to be found. He’s nervous, unsure of what to say. Jisung feels Changbin move beside him, sitting up to face him. 

He flickers his eyes over to him, and almost chokes on his own spit, as he catches sight of Changbin, pulling his black t-shirt off. Jisung’s face burns, but the embarrassment fades when he realizes what Changbin’s doing. 

Jisung remembers his second day here, when he had walked in on him, scars bared to the world. He gulps, watching as Changbin’s eyes flickered away. Changbin was opening up to him, showing him parts that he absolutely loathed, and letting Jisung in. His chest is covered in scars; long, thin ones, short rough ones, burn marks and bullet wounds. 

Changbin then turns around on the bed for Jisung, showcasing the black spinal cord melded with his skin and the smattering of scars across his back. Jisung sucks in a breath of trepidation, unsure of if he should move forward or back off. But Changbin looks over his shoulder, eyes clear and vulnerable, and Jisung feels his breath leave him. 

When Changbin has his head facing forward again, Jisung slowly reaches his hand out and places the palm of his hand on Changbin’s shoulder blade. The muscle is thick and corded underneath his hand, rippling at the sudden touch. He gently traces a crescent shaped scar there with his fingertips, watching the way Changbin’s back rises and falls. Shifting on the bed, Jisung moves a little closer and places his other hand over a puckered circle shaped scar on his lower back. Changbin doesn’t even flinch, just sits as still as he can. 

He’s content to let Jisung see and feel the scars on his skin. To trace every single one with such a light but reverent touch, and make Changbin feel, wanted. 

Jisung then moves his fingers, featherlight on the mottled skin near the prosthetic and watches a full body shiver rise throughout Changbin’s body. 

“‘S sensitive there,” He mumbles, voice dark and raspy. 

Jisung feels his cheeks flush, a muted red hue painting his features. Biting his lip, he eyes the pulled and scarred skin running along the sides of Changbin’s prosthetic with curiosity. Carefully, he follows the lines of scars down the prosthetic’s side with his fingers and watches as Changbin snaps. 

He immediately whirls around, pushing the younger into the bed with a soft thump. Jisung gasps, pinned to the bed by strong hands, body tingling as he looks into Changbin’s dark eyes. The necklace hangs between them, the golden  _ vegvísir  _ on the stone swaying softly.

Changbin’s hands are burning imprints through the fabric of Jisung’s thin t-shirt on his shoulders. He’s paralyzed, unable to think or move under the other’s deep, dark stare. Jisung releases a shuddering breath through his lips, tongue coming out briefly to wet them. Changbin’s eyes follow the movement with rapt attention.

With one last look at Jisung’s eyes, Changbin dives right into the other’s mouth. 

Jisung gasps, having never been kissed before in his entire life. His eyes are wide before they flutter shut, submitting to Changbin wholly. His hands move from his sides, fingers curling onto Changbin’s chest, limbs tingling at the sensation. The skin is warm under Jisung’s fingers and they trace a scar they find there lightly. 

Changbin kisses him hungrily, lips devouring and savouring. He groans softly as Jisung slides his hands up his chest. 

Jisung finally moves his hands to thread them through Changbin’s short, black hair. The action causes another groan to fall from Changbin’s lips, kisses becoming more fervent. Changbin moves his hands from Jisung’s shoulders to his waist, bunching up the fabric of his t-shirt and feeling warm, soft skin under his callused hands. 

Jisung begins to make soft sounds in the back of his throat, whimpers high and melodious. Changbin breaks the lip-lock, and buries his face against Jisung’s neck. He places warm, wet kisses along the column of it, taking pleasure in how the other writhes on the bed from such little stimulation. 

Jisung gasps, soft pants falling from his bruised lips. He grasps at Changbin’s shoulders, trying to ground himself, but feels himself falling further when the other starts sucking marks into his skin. Changbin keeps Jisung pinned to the bed firmly, one knee in between Jisung’s legs. 

He’s in the middle of sucking a very large bruise onto Jisung’s collarbone when a crackle disrupts him.

_ “Uh, Changbin? We have a little problem…”  _ Hyunjin’s voice floats through the ship COMMs. 

Changbin sighs, resting his head against Jisung’s shoulder in slight annoyance. Jisung pants, trying to regain his breath while a little smile forms on his lips. He starts to giggle, causing Changbin to look up at him. 

Jisung’s face is flushed, his eyes sparkle as he laughs. Changbin feels one bloom on his own face, his previous annoyance bleeding away at Jisung’s free smile. 

Changbin pushes himself up off Jisung, who flushes slightly at the sight of Changbin’s bare chest. He averts his eyes quickly, which does not go unnoticed by Changbin. 

“I just kissed you and you’re embarrassed about seeing me shirtless again?” Changbin asked, as Jisung squeaked out a response. 

_ "S-shut up!”  _ Jisung mumbles, no actual bite to his words as he sits up.

He still doesn’t look Changbin in the eyes until he puts his discarded shirt back on. Deeming it safe, Jisung looks back at Changbin, already finding the other staring at him thoughtfully. 

“Was that your first kiss?” Changbin asks softly, no malice in his voice. 

Jisung flushes, biting his lip as he nods. Changbin stares at him a little more, before reaching a hand up to tilt Jisung’s head up. Jisung doesn’t flinch away from the contact, just stares back in Changbin’s eyes, which seem much lighter than they did yesterday. 

_ “Changbin! Still waiting, problem here!” _ Hyunjin snipes through the COMMs again. 

Changbin sighs again, letting his hand fall as he turns around to answer his AI. 

“Coming, Hyunjin,” Changbin calls back, annoyed. 

Jisung smiles, standing up and brushing his hand against Changbin’s. Changbin doesn’t startle, just looks down and carefully entwines their fingers together. 

Jisung giggles shyly, before pulling Changbin off to the cockpit. 

Hyunjin is waiting for them there, impatiently tapping his foot as he stands in front of the controls. When he hears the door hiss open, he whirls around and fixes the both of them with an unimpressed look. 

“Well, about time you showed up,” Hyunjin huffed, hands on his hips as he stared at the pair. 

Changbin rolled his eyes at Hyunjin, while Jisung smiled embarrassed at him. Hyunjin raised his eyebrows, eyes calculating as he looked at them. In a second, a sly smile was spread over his lips. 

“Ah, I see,” Hyunjin said, watching as Jisung blushed hard. 

Hyunjin laughed at Jisung’s reaction before turning to Changbin. 

“Next time, try not to maul him, alright?” Hyunjin said, before walking towards the map. 

Changbin blinked before looking over at Jisung. Jsiung’s shirt collar was stretched out, the marks on his collarbone plain as day. Jisung looked back at Changbin, a curious look in his eyes. He tried to follow Changbin’s line of sight, squeaking when he realized what he was looking at. 

Changbin blushed a little, averting his eyes before speaking. 

“Sorry,” He murmured, looking off to the side in embarrassment. 

Jisung quickly adjusted his shirt collar as he spoke. 

_ “I-Its okay,”  _ Jisung stammered out. 

Hyunjin watched with an amused look, before grabbing their attention. 

“So, I’ve had to make some adjustments to the route we’re taking to Galade,” Hyunjin started off, moving his hands across the screen fluidly, “A few minutes ago my sensors found a huge asteroid field that we’re going to have no luck navigating, so we’re going to have to go around.”

Changbin raised his eyebrows, walking over to the map.

“How much time will that take?” He asked, looking at the new route Hyunjin had planned. 

Hyunjin grimaced before answering. 

“It’ll add two more days to travel time, making it about 5 days until we reach Galade.” Hyunjin said.

Changbin sighed, nodding his head. “Alright, that’s fine, as long as we get to Galade.”

Hyunjin nodded, watching as Changbin went over to the control panel. He flicked a few switches, and checked a few monitors before speaking. 

“I'll contact Wooyoung, tell him we’ll be late in getting there,” Changbin said as he turned around. 

Hyunjin nodded, watching as Changbin strode out the cockpit doors. Jisung stood off to the side, swaying back forth on his feet merrily. Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at him, lips crooking up into a sly grin. 

Jisung was too lost in his daze to notice the look the other was giving him, until he noticed how quiet it was in the cockpit. He stopped, eyes moving over to Hyunjin who grinned back at him. 

_ “What…?” _ Jisung said, a little defensive as he watched Hyunjin shake his head and laugh. 

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Hyunjin chirped, a smirk present on his face as he tapped away at the screen again. 

Jisung squinted at Hyunjin, unconvinced before walking over to the console. Hyunjin watched as he did so, a smile on his face, before reality set in. 

Minho sighed, fingers tapping against the wood of the table as he watched the computer run a diagnostic on the  prosthetic he had been building. It wasn’t something he had just whipped up in the past week, no, it was something he had been working on for a very long time. Minho watched with tired, dry eyes, as the loading bar completed itself. 

With a ping, the cable unattached itself from the prosthetic. Minho sat up, closing the little door that hid the outlet. He sighed, stretching his arms out as he looked over his work. It was the most complicated prosthetic, if he could call it even that now, he had ever made. Made of high grade materials and the best program software, it was practically his magnum opus. 

Minho turned around, getting up from his chair as he did so. He yawned, feet taking him to his bedroom where he flopped unceremoniously onto his bed. It was high time he got some well-deserved rest. 

Hyunjin stood there, assessing the map with weary eyes. Jisung had left a while ago, perhaps to find Changbin, or maybe to watch the stars from the observation deck. He felt happy, knowing that both knew each other’s feelings now. But he was conflicted. He still felt upset about what Changbin did, but in all honesty though, he was ready to forgive him. 

Yet, something was holding him back. 

He wanted Cahngbin to acknowledge that he’d done something wrong, to know that he hurt one of the people closest to him. Even if Hyunjin wasn’t the real Hyunjin, he wanted to at least feel at peace with himself. He wanted Changbin to feel at peace with himself, before he left. 

Hyunjin sighed, looking at the map with heavy eyes, before switching to a program. He scanned through the code, before booting it up. In the blink of an eye, a short, petite woman, with a bob appeared in front of him. 

The woman opened her eyes, carefully assessing the area around her before looking at Hyunjin. 

A smile came over her face when she saw him, recognition in her eyes. 

“Hello, Jin.” She said, her voice soft. “Or should I say Hyunjin, now?”

Hyunjin gave her a crooked smile, before speaking. 

“Hey, Spika.” He returned. 

Spika, the AI, smiled at him, before her expression turned inquisitive. 

“Why have you summoned me here, is there a problem?” She asked, voice lilting at the end. 

Hyunjin smiled sadly, shaking his head as he did so. 

“No, I just, want you to be there, for Changbin.”

Spika raised her eyebrow in question, before a look of realization dawned on her face. 

“You’re, going to delete yourself, aren’t you?” She said carefully, watching as Hyunjin nodded. 

She let out a sigh, before replying. 

“Is it what you really want, Hyunjin?” Spika asked, eyes staring imploringly into the younger AI’s.

Hyunjin bit his lip, before slowly nodding. 

“Yes. Changbin can’t keep holding onto memories, like me,” Hyunjin said, watching as Spika’s face turned sorrowful, “I’m just a copy, I’m not the real thing. Staying here with him will only hurt him more in the future. That’s why I have to leave.”

Spika looked at Hyunjin, searching his face. She could tell by his eyes that there was no way she could reason with him. Letting out a small breath, Spika nodded. 

“Alright then,” Spika said, “I’ll take over for you. Do you have an idea of when you’d like me to take reign of the Black Hawk?” 

Hyunjin smiled, a sad, but wistful smile. 

“I’ll signal you when I’m ready.”

Spika nodded her head again slowly, before blinking out of existence. 

Hyunjin sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was for the best, he knew it. Hyunjin just brought pain with him, and Changbin was finally happy. He just needed to speak to him, now.

Jisung giggled, giddy with himself as he strung glass beads onto a thin piece of string. He was sitting on the floor of the observation deck, playing with a little kit that he’d found buried deep in the recesses of the ship’s storage room. It was full of expensive things, most likely items Changbin got as payment for bounties. It was curious that he had found something like this in the room, and he’d gone and asked Hyunjin about it. The AI had only smiled when he saw it. 

“Oh, that?” Hyunjin said, when Jisung held up the little kit, a knowing smile on his lips. “Changbin got that as payment for a bounty.”

Jisung furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the assortment of different beads and strings in the kit. He looked back up at Hyunjin, who seemed quite amused by whatever memory he was recalling. 

_ “A bounty? What kind of bounty would cause someone to give this as payment to a bounty hunter?” _ Jisung asked, watching as Hyunjin smiled softly at Jisung’s question. 

“A little girl.” Hyunjin said, watching as Jisung’s eyes widened. 

Hyunjin then went on to explain. 

“A little Thurmian girl put out a request, she wanted someone to find her missing father,” Hyunjin said as he tapped his fingers against the holographic keyboard. “Her father had mysteriously disappeared as he was coming home from work one day. The girl claimed it was debt collectors, one’s who were working for an intergalactic gang that was well-known in the star system.” 

Hyunjin typed away as he spoke, Jisung watching with soft eyes as he listened. 

“None of the bounty hunters on the web would pick it up, except for Changbin.” Hyunjin says, looking up briefly. “Long story short, the little girl was right, and Changbin brought her father back home to her. The little girl’s family didn’t have much money, but Changbin insisted that it was fine. So, the little girl gave him that kit. She told him, ‘Maybe one day, you’ll find someone to give this to. On our planet, Thurmians gift their beloved with a bracelet, which is said to bind their very souls together. It might not sound like much, but I want you to have hope, that even someone like you, can find a little happiness.’” 

Jisung looked down at the kit, eye scanning over the beads with new eyes. 

Hyunjin watched Jisung with a fond look, seeing the gears whir to life in the young prince’s head. 

_ “Thanks, Hyunjin. For telling me that story.”  _ Jisung said, with a bright smile on his face. 

Hyunjin nodded his head, watching as the prince left with a hop in his step. 

That’s how Jisung found himself, picking out the perfect colours and beads to string onto the string. Jisung wanted it to be just right, he wanted the colours to reflect what he thought of Changbin. He wanted to give it to Changbin when they safely made it to Galade. He only had four days left, but Jisung knew he could come up with something worth giving to the bounty hunter. 

He lifted the incomplete bracelet up, watching as it glinted from the light of the passing stars outside. He scrunched his nose up, before shaking his head. Jisung didn’t like this pattern, and the colours weren’t quite right. With a huff, he turned to the little wooden box beside him and began to rummage through it, before his eyes caught sight of something. 

Jisung’s eyes glinted when he picked it up, examining it with a small smile. He nodded his head, carefully letting the beads on the string off into the bowl he was using before picking out a different colour. He hummed quietly to himself, as he matched different colours with what he had found, determined to find something that matched it perfectly. 

Changbin ruffled his hair, having gotten off the call with Wooyoung to relay to him their status. Wooyoung had only smiled and said that they were running a bit late as well, having gotten embroiled in something as they were leaving their previous destination. Changbin had only scoffed at his friend, who smiled widely at him in return. 

Now, he was left with his thoughts, staring at a black screen as his mind drifted off to last night. 

Jisung, the Kalurian prince, the one to be wedded off to King Casfen of the Golxian Empire. Jisung, who smiled sweetly at everyone he met, who would never hurt fly, who ripped open his very soul and still liked what he saw in him afterwards, liked him back.

Changbin couldn’t help let a goofy grin appear on his face, laughing a little as he did so. To think that he would catch the eye of an alien prince, was something he’d have never thought. Maybe when he was a kid, dreaming of being part of the Galactic Union, but as a bounty hunter, with more red in his ledger than normal people? It was almost laughable, but here he was, smiling at the mere thought of Jisung. 

It wasn’t like him, to be this soft, usually. There had been few cases, rare ones, where he’d let himself be the better person, just so he could sleep a little better for one night out of thousands. 

Jisung wasn’t like every other case he’d come across. The young prince had flipped everything upside down and inside out, and Changbin was sure he could never go back to what he once was. Maybe Minho was right, maybe there was a way out, for the both of them. 

Felix groaned, banging his head against his desk in his room aboard the starship, Hermes. He’d been unsuccessfully trying to decode the rest of the transmissions. Yet, it seemed that luck wasn’t on his side, as he stared forlornly at his computer screen, the program he had opened staring back at him mockingly. 

He huffed, turning away from the screen with indignation. His eyes rested on his bed for a good thirty seconds, before Felix got up from his seat with asigh, fully intent on getting some rest. Just as he kicked his shoes off and was about to fall unceremoniously onto the mattress, the door to his room hissed open with abeep. 

He caught himself with a disgruntled sigh, before turning around and facing the intruder. 

Standing at the door was his crew member, Seungmin, an Altara. Altara had floppy, dog-like ears, and a great sense of smell and hearing. Seungmin just returned Felix’s glare with one of his own before speaking. 

“Captain wants you,” He said simply, watching as Felix just raised his eyebrows in response. 

“He could’ve COMMed me, why’d he send you?” Felix asked, crossing his arms. 

Seungmin snorted before replying. “He figured you wouldn’t answer, most likely because you’d be sleeping, as you were just about to when I entered.”

Felix stuck his tongue out childishly at Seungmin who only rolled his eyes in response. 

“Why does he make it sound like that’s all I do…” Felix grumbled, pulling on his boots as Seungmin watched.

“Because that is, what you only do.” 

Felix just huffed in response, too tired to be arguing anymore. When he finally laced his boots back up, he got up from the bed and walked over to the door. With a sigh he looked over at Seungmin.    
‘Are you coming?” He asked, watching as Seungmin made a face. 

“And sit there suffocating in the massive amount of sexual tension that radiates from the two of you whenever you’re so much in radius of each other? No thanks, I’ll pass.” Seungmin throwed back sarcastically, watching as a bright flush warmed over Felix’s cheeks. 

“I-What, we don’t-!” Felix sputtered out, thrown through a loop at Seungmin’s words. 

Seungmin rolled his eyes before stepping next to Felix and patting his shoulder. 

“Sure you don’t,” He said, before exiting the room, calling to Felix over his shoulder, “Captain’s in his study.” 

Felix gaped at Seungmin left, face a brilliant shade of red before he composed himself. 

“Captain doesn’t like me,” Felix said with a pout as he left, bee-lining it straight for the elevator. 

He nodded his head at passing crew members, who returned the gesture as he passed by. Felix was the youngest First Officer they’d ever had in the Galactic Union, and Chan was the youngest captain that they’d ever had. The two were quite a sight, both having done so well in their separate times at the academy that they had been picked up by Admiral Han’s sector quite immediately after they had both graduated. 

Admiral Han had picked them personally herself; she had been the one to recommend him to Chan, who had made him his First Officer, after Felix had joined him and his current crew on an expedition to another planet. Felix had performed well on the mission, and had been pleasantly surprised that the young, well-known, and decorated captain would choose him to replace his former first officer who had been injured fatally in the line of duty. 

Felix had never been happier at his position on the Hermes, who were now like family to him. Well, the ship deck crew was like family to him. They’d been through thick and thin together, and Felix had a small feeling that more would be joining their ranks soon. 

When the elevator stopped at the floor below his, Felix exited and turned to his right. He walked down the long hallway, passing many crew member’s doors before stopping at the one at the very end. A name plate, which had the crew member’s name, ID number, and rank, was posted beside the door, in burnished metal. Felix pressed the button next to the little COMM, signalling the occupant that he was here. 

After a few seconds, Chan’s voice floated out of the speaker. 

_ “Come in,” _ He said simply, fatigue present in his voice. 

Felix pressed the button beside it, letting the door slide fully open before entering the room. 

Chan was sitting at his desk, documents and holo screens surrounding him as he looked through the infor with heavy eyes. His uniform jacket was thrown haphazardly onto his unmade bed, his shirt untucked and unbuttoned a bit, revealing far more chest than Felix would’ve liked. His brown hair was tousled and unruly, the curls a little more frazzled than usual. 

Felix averted his eyes as best he could before speaking. 

“Seungmin said you wanted to see me?” He said, studiously looking at the large floor to ceiling window behind the captain. 

“Uh, yes, have you gotten anywhere with the transmissions since last time? Chan asked, not looking up from the document he was reading on a holo-tablet. 

Felix cleared his throat, cursing Seungmin for putting those unfounded thoughts in his head before replying. 

“No, there seems to be some sort of interference, messing with the data,” Felix replied back, eyes looking everywhere but the captain. “I’ll have to run a lot more tests to figure out the problem.”

Chan, still not looking up, nodded his head before standing up. He walked over to Felix and passed him the holo tablet he was looking at. Felix flushed, trying to keep his eyes at eye level with his captain’s face as he did so.

Carefully, he observed the document that Chan was reading, all previous thoughts of his captain’s state of dress vanishing as he took in the words. His eyebrows furrowed before he looked up at Chan.

“Where did you find this?” He asked, eyes glancing over the document. 

“It was in the database for this sector, marked a few months before the war started between the Kalurian Kingdom and the Golxian Empire, about a year ago.” Chan said, using his finger to swipe to the next page. “It’s blatantly vague, almost as if what they were planning to do, was called off. But I think I have an idea as to what they’re referring to in this document.” 

Felix raised his eyes to Chan’s disbelievingly.

“You do?” He said, watching as Chan only smiled cheekily at him. 

“Yes, but I won’t tell you unless I’m 100% sure of my assumption,” Chan said as he turned around, walking back to his desk. 

Felix walked followed after him, the holo tablet clutched in his hands. 

“If you’re right, and let’s say, you’re right, what does that mean for Kalur?” Felix asked, a slight tremble to his deep voice. 

Chan looked up, noticing the sad look on Felix’s bowed head. His face softened, before he carefully made his way around his desk and next to him. He hesitated, hand hovering over Felix’s shoulder before it fell to his side. 

“Don’t worry, Felix, we’ll figure this out.” Chan said, watching as Felix looked up at him with wet eyes. 

“I hope so,” Felix murmured, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve, “I hope so too.”

Changbin yawned as he made his way to his bedroom, for some reason, sleep seemed to come to him without warning. Usually, Changbin was fighting to sleep, but now he felt drained and out of energy as he watched the door to his room slide open. He blinked, noticing Jisung standing in front of the desk, placing the bracelets on his wrists onto it. 

Jisung looked up with a shy smile, quickly abandoning his task and stepping towards the other. It was then that Changbin realized that Jisung was dressed in his sleep clothes, a way too baggy white t-shirt, the tan skin of his legs all on display. He felt a hunger burn deep in his stomach, but willed it away when Jisung smiled at him carefully. 

Changbin opened his mouth to ask Jisung a question, but was pleasantly surprised, when the prince wrapped his lithe fingers around his wrist and pulled him to the bed. Changbin let himself be guided, bewitched by the prince before him. When they reached the bed, Jisung turned to look at Changbin with shy eyes. It was then that Changbin knew what Jisung was doing, and let himself follow along. 

He kicked his boots off, Jisung watching him nervously. He undid his belt as he did not want to have that digging into this stomach. When he was done, Jisung pulled Changbin again. The young prince crawled across the bed to the other side, pulling Changbin with him. He pulled the covers back as he did so, Changbin following after him. Changbin let Jisung gently push him onto his back, before pulling the covers up and lying beside him. Changbin turned on his side, watching as Jisung looked back at him, a faint blush on his cheeks. 

_ “Good night,” _ Jisung murmured softly, eyes closing. 

Changbin stared at his peaceful face, before moving closer. With a gasp, Jisung felt himself be pulled, strong arms wrapping around his waist, as he collided with Changbin’s warm body. Changbin tangled their legs together, burying his face in Jisung’s soft hair with a sigh. Jisung stiffened, before relaxing slowly into the embrace. He smiled softly into Changbin’s chest, fingers curling into the fabric as he snuggled closer. 

_ “Good night, again, Changbin.” _ Jisung sighed out, feeling his eyelids get heavier each passing second. 

When Jisung’s breathing evened out, Changbin let out a shaky breath before closing his own eyes. 

“Good night, Jisung.” He said into the other’s hair, eyes closing as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hope you guys enjoyed this chap!!!! as i said before, i had a hard time writing it, so i hope it lives up to your expectations. (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ 
> 
> next chap will come quicker than this one, because i have most of the scenes written but pls don't quote me on this,,,,,so maybe next week???? 
> 
> anywho! here's my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) and [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola), pls come say hi if you'd like!!! have a good day, evening, or night!!! love you alll, and hopefully seeya next week! <3


	11. When Two Dying Stars Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo, its finn here, welcome to chapter 11!!!! yayyy!!!! 
> 
> anyways, warning, as this chapter does contain explicit content, so that's in the beginning half, you can skip it if you want, that's up to you! important stuff happens right after so be sure to just read that briefly. 
> 
> anyways, onwards!!!

Jisung hums, tying the ends of the bracelet together, before carefully cutting the excess thread off. He smiled, holding up the finished product to the light and giggling. Jisung had spent the last few days working on the bracelet, hoping that in the end, Changbin would like it. He was quite proud of it, not having done this sort of thing since he was a child. But the bracelet was done, and the colours and the patterns were perfect. With a smile, he puts everything away, hiding the bracelet in the wooden box. 

They had just landed on Galade a little while ago, Jisung excited in his seat as he watched them break through the atmosphere. The planet was mostly green, lush jungles, with a wide blue ocean. The sky was tinted lilac as well, the two yellow suns burning brightly in the sky. 

Hyunjin had inputted the coordinates that Wooyoung had given them as they broke the atmosphere. Now that they were on the planet, the ship and Hyunjin could figure out the latitude and longitude of the planet, helping them get to the coordinates. The coordinates led them to an abandoned bounty hunter outpost, one that was supposedly only known and used by Wooyoung’s crew. 

The large building they parked the Black Hawk by was in dire need of repair, but with careful observation, one could see subtle signs that it was used. After they had landed, they had all gone off to do different things; Hyunjin stayed in the cockpit and monitored the air space above them, Changbin went to inform Wooyoung that they had made it, and Jisung had gone to finish off the bracelet.

By the time Jisung had finished, both twin suns were setting in the sky, a beautiful sunset painting the horizon. Jisung watched from the observation deck, in awe at the bright, beautiful colours spanning the horizon. 

He’s too enraptured by the sight that he doesn’t notice Changbin come sit beside him until he speaks. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Changbin says softly. 

Jisung nods his head, tearing his eyes away from the sight, only to find Changbin’s eyes on him instead. Jisung flushes, eyes skittering to his lap. His heart pounds loudly in his chest, and he wonders if Changbin can hear it from where he sits. 

Changbin only chuckles, head turning to look at the sunset. 

They sit there, quietly, enjoying it until the both suns fall beyond the skyline. 

“We should go to bed, Wooyung said they’ll be here later tomorrow.” 

Changbin’s voice breaks Jisung out of the daze he was in, head nodding in agreement. Stretching his arms above his head, Changbin gets up, before offering his hand to Jisung. Jisung takes it with a shy smile, a pink flush across his cheeks. He pulls himself up, and is pleasantly surprised when Changbin tightens his grip on his hand, intertwining their fingers. 

They walk like that, hand in hand back to Changin’s room. When they enter the room, Jisung goes to the table across from the bed, taking the colour bracelets off his wrist. Changbin sits on the bed, watching him for a bit before leaning down and tugging his boots off. 

He can’t help but stare when Jisung undresses, the overalls dropping to the floor. Jisung steps out of them, tugging his shirt down a bit before turning around. Changbin’s dark eyes are on him, and Jisung feels his body burn. His eyes flicker to the side as he makes his way to the bed, climbing onto it and lying down behind the other. 

Changbin turns around, placing his hands beside Jisung’s waist. He runs his hands up Jisung’s side, watching as the other stares at him curiously. His head is cocked to the side, eyes pure and bright as he regards the other. 

Changbin leans down, connecting their lips softly. Jisung makes a small noise in the back of his throat, surprised by the action. He softly kisses back, still shy and unsure. Changbin pulls back, looking into the other’s gold-speckled eyes. 

Jisung notices how dark they've become, but in a way he’s never seen before. Instead, Jisung lays there on his back, letting Changbin nose down his neck. His lips press soft kisses into the golden skin, Jisung shuddering under the ministrations. His hands grip at Changbin’s shoulders, gasping softly when the other drags his shirt up a bit. 

He blushes, suddenly being able to put a name to the darkness in Changbin’s eyes. Changbin stops though, pulling back to look at him. 

“Sorry,” He mumbles, looking slightly ashamed of himself. 

Changbin feels disgust well up in his throat, it burning away at his insides. He looks away from Jisung, unable to look him in the eyes. 

Jisung just looks up at the other, hand coming up to direct his eyes back to his own.

Changbin looks into Jisung’s eyes watching as he bites at his lip nervously before speaking. 

_ “I-I want,”  _ Jisung stutters out, before a determined look flashes across his face,  _ “I want you to. I mean, I want you.”  _

Changbin stares back at Jisung, a little surprised, before speaking.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable-” Changbin is cut off by Jisung covering his mouth with his hand. 

Changbin blinks down at Jisung, who gives him a shy smile. 

_ “I only want you,” _ He says, eyes twinkling softly at him. 

Changbin feels a hunger burn in his stomach at the words. He leans back down, lips pressing into Jisung’s. Jisung sighs into the kiss, nerves bubbling up into his stomach when he feels Changbin’s hands slide under his shirt again. It’s replaced by affection when Changbin gently kisses down his neck, being so soft with him. 

Changbin doesn’t want to hurt Jisung, he wants it to be good for the younger. So he places all of his attention on Jisung, wanting him to feel how much Changbin cared for him through his touch. He glides his fingers over the others skin reverently, almost as if he was something to be worshipped. 

Jisung watches as Changbin slides his shirt up to his chest, pressing soft kisses to his chest and stomach. It feels good, Jisung clutching at the pillow underneath his head. He lets out a soft gasp, when Changbin’s lips graze his erection underneath his briefs. It sends tingles up his spine, a flush gracing his body. 

Changbin slides his hands up to the edge of his briefs, toying with the hem. 

“Can I?” He asks gently, watching as Jisung nods his head. “I need words, prince.”

Jisung lets out a shuddering breath.  _ “Yes, please.”  _

Changbin slowly peels his briefs down his legs, dropping them over the side of the bed. Jisung’s already hard, the simple touches being too much for him. Changbin slides his hands up Jisung’s thighs, dipping his head to press kisses and suck marks into the soft flesh. He grips Jisung’s hips in his hands, breathing ghosting over Jisung’s erection. 

Jisung flushes, wanting to cover himself up from Changbin’s dark gaze. He lets out a gasp when Changbin wraps a rough palm around his dick. His thighs tremble, little whines falling from his mouth when Changbin quickens the pace a bit. He shivers when Changbin stops, a whimper falling from his lips. His disappointment is quickly replaced with pleasure, as suddenly his cock is enveloped in a wet heat. 

Changbin watches as Jisung’s back arches off the bed, hands flying to grab at his hair. He bobs his head, enjoying the sounds the younger makes. The younger pulls at his scalp, the sting from it causing Changbin to groan. The vibrations make Jisung quiver, toes curling as Changbin continues to suck. Popping off to catch his breath, Changbin wraps his hand around Jisung’s dick, slick with his saliva. He rests his head against the inside of Jisung’s thighs, watching as the prince’s chest heaves.

Jisung’s thighs threaten to close, but Changbin keeps them open with his one hand. Wanting Jisung to cum, he licks at the head of Jisung’s cock, slowly taking the whole thing in again. Jisung’s not big, so it’s easy for Changbin to take him in his mouth. He sucks, watching as Jisung cries out, pearly tears falling from his eyes. He continues this, watching as Jisung begins to let out little high whines the closer he gets. 

_ “Ah-Changbin-!”  _ Jisung breathes out, finally releasing into the other’s mouth. 

Changbin swallows what he can, before releasing the other’s dick from his mouth. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before sitting up. He kisses up Jisung’s body, before reaching the other’s mouth and kissing him. It's open-mouthed, as Jisung can’t stop panting from his earlier orgasm. 

Jisung grips at the other’s shoulders, still a little overwhelmed from his previous high. Changbin pulls back, one of his hands coming up to stroke Jisung’s cheek softly. 

“Do you want to continue, prince?” Changbin asks him, such affection held in his eyes. 

Jisung nods, heart in his throat before answering.  _ “Yes, I want you.”  _

Changbin groans at that, burying his face into the crook of the younger’s neck and sucking marks into the skin. Jisung gasps, hands pulling at Changbin’s hair. He whines briefly, when Changbin leans back, quickly discarding his shirt before leaning back in and kissing Jisung again. Jisung slides his hands down Changbin’s chest, nails digging into the scars. 

Jisung moans, hands gliding back up Changbin’s chest to grip at his shoulders. They kiss for a bit more, Changbin pouring all of his feelings into it. When he parts from Jisung, he watches as the other’s eyes flutter open, already so lost. 

Changbin watches with surprise and hunger as Jisung pulls his shirt over his head, leaving him completely bare. His whole body is covered in hickies and a bright red flush. His chest heaves, Jisung staring up at Changbin with half-lidded eyes. 

“Beautiful,” Changbin breathes out, watching as Jisung’s eyes skate away, embarrassed. 

Jisung shifts on the bed, hands tugging at the waistband of Changbin’s pants. Changbin chuckles slightly, kissing Jisung on the lips. Jisung pouts when he pulls away, a whine flailing from his lips.

_ “Not fair,”  _ He whines out, sitting up and undoing the belt on Changbin’s pants. 

Changbin lets him, watching as the other stops slightly when he undos the button on his pants. With a shaky breath, heart beating rapidly in his chest, Jisung pulls the zipper down. The bulge in Changbin’s pants is prominent, and Jisung flushes when he realizes that Changbin is bigger than him. 

Hesitantly he palms the bulge in Changbin’s boxers, Changbin groaning at the contact. His hips jolt a little when Jisung mustered up the courage to reach into his boxers and take hold of his cock. He grabs Jisung’s hips, forehead resting against Jisung’s as he pumped his cock. 

Changbin begins to get impatient, Jisung teasing him without noticing it. He grabs ahold of Jisung’s hand, stopping him. 

“Keep doing that and I won’t be able to fuck you prince,” Changbin breathes out, watching Jisung shiver at the words. 

Changbin slowly backs Jisung into the bed, hand reaching over to the small dresser next to it. He pulls the drawer out, digging his hand in and grabbing a hold of a bottle of lube. It’s still full,as Changbin hasn’t really had anybody over in a while. 

He sits in between Jisung’s legs, carefully spreading his thighs to fit him. He uncaps the bottle, squeezing a generous amount onto his fingers. He warms it up, not wanting it to be uncomfortable for Jisung. When that's done, he leans over Jisung, who stares up at him with nervous eyes. He gently presses a kiss to his forehead, his free hand gently stroking his side.

“If you want to stop now, just tell me, I won’t be mad.” Changbin says softly, staring deep into the prince 's. 

Jisung shakes his head, before speaking.  _ “Only want you, just you.” _

The words strike a chord in his heart, making it fill up with so much warmth. Changbin nods, finger gently circling Jisung’s rim. Jisung lets out a breath, one hand clutching at his free arm. 

“Tell me if it hurts, okay?” 

Jisung nods, sighing out when Changbin pushes the first finger in. Changbin watches his face for any sign of pain, carefully probing around. He wants Jisung to be comfortable before he adds another so he waits patiently, watching as Jisung scrunches up his face before letting out a heavy breath. 

_ “You can add another,” _ His voice is strained, high and pitchy as he speaks. 

Changbin inserts the next finger, gently moving them in scissoring motions. Jisung bites his lip, a moan catching in his throat when Changbin brushes up against his prostate. He keeps brushing against the spot, making it pleasurable for the other. After a few minutes Jisung signals that he can add one more. 

Changbin kisses him softly, and Jisung grabs his free hand, lacing their fingers together. He can tell when Jisung’s ready, because his hips begin to roll back, his body responding to the pleasure. 

He gently removes his fingers, watching as Jisung’s mouth falls open. He sits up, getting off the bed and quickly removing his pants. He’s painfully hard, but none of that matters to him. This was Jisung’s first time, it was all about the younger right now, he could wait. He digs in the drawer again for a condom, opening the package as he climbs back in between Jisung’s legs. He pulls the condom on, hissing when his hand makes contact with his dick. 

He squirts more lube onto his hand, running it up his length. When that’s done, he pulls Jisung onto his lap, turning them around so that his back is to the head board. Jisung blushes as he’s held over Changbin’s lap, hands gripping his shoulders tightly. 

Changbin uses one hand to line his dick up with Jisung’s hole, while the other one rests on his waist. 

“Ready?” He murmurs, looking up at Jisung. 

Jisung nods, Changbin gently and slowly guiding him down on his cock. Jisung whimpers, the stretch new to him. He shudders, as he buries his face into Changbin’s neck. Changbin kisses his shoulder, guiding him slowly. He feels full, and soon he’s sitting on Changbin’s lap completely. With a shaky breath he removes his face from Changbin’s neck. 

“Look at you, so gorgeous, prince.” Changbin breathes out, as Jisung shifts on top of him. 

He looks like a god, the flush on his skin causing his body to glimmer in the low light. His blonde hair is matted against his forehead, lips red and bitten. Blue eyes stare at him from under long lashes, demure and shy. 

Jisung whimpers, slowly adjusting to the feeling of Changbin’s cock inside him. Changbin groans softly, when Jisung unintentionally clenches around him. He rubs his hands up Jisung’s sides, wanting the other to feel comfortable before he moves. Jisung has his hands gripping the other’s shoulders, his tongue coming out to wet his lips. 

Finally, Jisung leans forward and connects their lips in a soft kiss. 

_ “Please _ ,” He whimpers against Changbin’s lips, hips shifting as he tries to figure out what to do. 

“Like this,” Changbin murmurs, letting his hands guide Jisung’s hips up, before guiding him back down. “Just like that, okay?” 

Jisung trembles at the feeling, his body hypersensitive and new to the feeling. He shyly moves his hips as directed, slowly becoming used to the feeling with every bounce. Changbin lets Jisung set the pace, more focused on Jisung’s pleasure rather than his own at the moment. He runs his hands across Jisung’s body, drinking in the way his eyes flutter shut with each rise and fall of his hips. 

His body trembles when Changbin’s cock brushes up against the spot that has him crying out. Changbin leans back onto the pillows, planting his feet onto the bed to thrust his hips upward. Jisung keens when Changbin meets him, thrust for thrust. Changbin groans, it’s Jisung’s first time but he rides him so well. 

Jisung’s pace becomes a little frantic, pleasure now taking over his senses. He can feel his thighs tiring, hand coming out to help steady himself on Changbin’s chest. Changbin can see he’s growing tired, thighs quivering with the task of holding and dropping himself. 

“Come here,” Changbin says, voice raspy, and he gently flips them over. 

Jisung falls back onto the bed, Changbin’s cock slipping from his hole. Changbin realigns himself with Jisung’s hole, thrusting in slowly. He looms over Jisung, who whimpers as Changbin drives slowly and deep into him. He grasps at Changbin’s biceps, nails digging into the skin roughly. Changbin presses his forehead against Jisung’s, looking into his teary eyes. 

His eyes flutter shut, and Changbin thinks he looks so beautiful like this, all caught up in pleasure. He drives his hips just a little harder, angling them so he can hit the younger’s prostate each time. Changbin knows he found it when Jisung’s moans start to get pitchy in tone. Jisung wraps his arms around Changbin’s shoulder, voice breaking as Changbin drives particularly hard in one thrust. 

“Fuck, you’re so good, prince,” Changbin rasps out voice hoarse as he continues to abuse the other’s sweet spot. 

Jisung whimpers, unable to form a sentence to convey to Changbin how he was feeling. His nails dig deeper into Changbin’s skin, cock twitching as he feels his orgasm brewing in his lower stomach. 

_ “Please, oh please-”  _ Jisung babbles out, Changbin reaching in between their bodies and pumping Jisung’s cock in his hand. 

Jisung gasps, mouth falling open as he cums hard. It's better than the first time and he shakes through his orgasm, Changbin holding him through it. He whispers sweet nothings into his ear, his own orgasm approaching rapidly. It's with a couple more thrusts that has Changbin groaning low into Jisung’s neck, hips stuttering against Jisung’s ass as he cums. 

He rides it out gently, not wanting to overstimulate Jisung any further. Jisung is limp in his arms, eyes half closed as he looks up at Changbin. Reluctantly, Changbin disentangles himself from Jisung. Jisung whines, hands coming out to pull him back. 

“I’ll be back in a second, baby,” Changbin murmurs, taking one of Jisung’s hands and pressing a kiss to the inside of his wrist, “I gotta clean you up.”

Jisung pouts, eyes glossy as he stares at the other.  _ “Come back quickly.” _

Changbin smiles, before walking next door to the bathroom. He gets a clean towel and wets it a bit with warm water. When he comes back, Jisung is waiting, eyes fluttering closed every few seconds. He rubs the towel over Jisung’s torso, before gently cleaning the lube still clinging to his ass. 

Feeling drained, Changbin just drops the towel beside their pile of discarded clothes. He crawls into bed beside Jisung, who reaches out for him. Changbin pulls Jisung up against him, Jisung tucking his head on his chest. He pulls the blankets over them, letting Jisung snuggle closer to him. Changbin runs a hand through Jisung’s locks, feeling his soft puffs of air against his chest. 

Its new, this intimacy after sex. Usually it’s a quick fuck and then the other party is leaving. But this time, Changbin has someone in his arms that he wants to keep there forever. Changbin looks down, noticing Jisung is already fast asleep. He smiles, a fond little thing as he presses a kiss to Jisung’s hair. He gently drifts off after the other as well. 

When Jisung wakes up, he’s tucked against Changbin’s chest, the other snoring softly. Jisung peers up, watching the peaceful look on his face. He looks so much younger like this, and Jisung leans up a bit to press a kiss to his lips. Changbin doesn’t wake, just tightens his arms around Jisung’s waist, before burying his head against Jisung’s neck. Jisung giggles, threading his fingers through Changbin’s short black hair. He rests his cheek against the top of Changbin’s head, feeling secure and safe in his arms. 

He lays there content, his body a little sore from last night's events. He blushes slightly, burying his nose into Changbin’s locks in embarrassment. The sounds he’d made, gosh he didn’t know his voice could go that high. And the way Changbin eyed him like a hungry beast, but was so gentle and understanding, made Jisung’s heart clench. He smiles into Changbin’s hair, a giddy feeling blooming in his chest. 

Lying there, he feels happy, finally. 

Changbin eventually wakes up, less embarrassed than Jisung. He kisses the other softly in greeting, hand coming up to caress his cheek lovingly. Jisung smiles brightly when they pull apart, tugging Changbin’s heart strings painfully. 

They continue to lay there for a bit, too content with being in each other’s embrace. Of course, all good things just come to an end, and Jisung whines when Changbin sits up. Jisung gives him his best pout, lips full as he stares up at the other pleadingly.

Cahngbin just chuckles. “Come on, up prince.”

Jisung flushes at the pet name, burying his face in the covers when Changbin stands up. He gets up after him, picking out a new shirt, underwear and overalls from the dresser in the room. He gets dressed alongside Changbin who keeps stealing kisses from him.

Jisung’s pulling the straps of his overalls over his shoulders, when something drops around his neck. He blinks, feeling Changbin’s hands brush over his neck briefly, his weight pressing into his back. Jisung looks down, and practically gasps when he sees the amulet Changbin always wears now hanging from his neck, the black stone and  _ vegvísir  _ now held against his chest. 

He turns around, eyes bright with confusion as Changbin looks at him. Changbin has a look on his face, one that Jisung has only seen in human movies he’s watched. It’s one of adoration, and love. 

“Remember what I told you about this symbol?” Changbin murmurs gently, caressing Jisung’s face in his hand. 

Jisung nods.  _ “You said your mother gave it to you, as a reminder that you’d always find your way back to her.”  _

“Yeah,” Changbin breathes, “It’s for those that have become lost, so, if you ever get lost, I’ll be able to find you.”

Jisung feels tears brim in his eyes at the words, lips curling up into a joyful smile. Changbin smiled back at him, feeling that emotion well up in his chest again. That powerful emotion he’d never thought he’d get to experience, that one that transcended barriers of all kinds. 

And as Changbin leaned in to give Jisung a tender kiss, he finally put a name to that feeling. 

It was  _ love.  _

Changbin smiled softly, running a hand through his hair as he thought. Jisung wasn’t with him, having run off somewhere to go procure something. Right after Cahngbin had given him the amulet and said those words, Jisung’s eyes had brightened up in remembrance. 

_ “Oh! I have something to give you as well!” _ Jisung had said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.  _ “I have to go get it, so I’ll meet you at the cockpit!”  _

Changbin could only smile back, fondness dripping from his very soul at the beautiful smile that Jisung gave him as he hurried off. His chest felt light, lighter than it had in years. It felt like all the heaviness in his heart had been emptied out by one little alien prince. One who had suddenly become more important than the universe to him. 

He was still smiling goofily as he walked through the cockpit doors, the doors opening with ab automatic hiss when he was close. Changbin walks up to the controls at the front tapping away and checking things when he hears Hyunjin speak behind him. 

“We have to talk.”

Changbin feels dread fill his bones for some reason. He knew that they would have to talk eventually about what had transpired all those years ago, but something about the way Hyunjin had said those words made Changbin weary. Slowly, he turns around and faces the AI. 

Hyunjin had no expression on his face, completely emotionless as he began to speak. 

“You know I don’t hate you for what happened, right?” Hyunjin starts out, carefully watching changbin’s expression. 

Cahngbin let out a shaky breath, eyes looking to the side before he nodded slowly. 

“Yeah, I do.” Changbin says softly, looking at Hyunjin with much clearer eyes than before. 

Hyunjin nods, looking off to the side in thought before continuing. 

“And you do know that I’m only a copy, right?” 

The words stab a wound into Changbin’s heart, wincing as Hyunjin stares at him with those despondent blue eyes of his. 

Changbin lets out another breath before responding. 

“You’re real to me, Hyunjin.” Changbin begins, looking at Hyunjin. “You’ve always been real to me.”

Hyunjin shakes his head furiously.

“Changbin, I’m not really Hyunjin,” He says, desperation slowly bleeding into his voice, the mask of his crumbling with each word, “I’m just an AI you programmed to look and think and speak and  _ feel _ like the old Hyunjin. I’m not him. I’m Jin.”

Changbin feels anger spike in his veins at the words, teeth gritting as he tries to reason with the AI.

“You are real, you’ve always been real,” Changbin bites out, eyes frenzied as he looks at Hyunjin. 

“I’m not!” Hyunjin bursts out, the dam finally breaking down. “I’m just a copy, a fake!” 

Changbin stares back in shock as Hyunjin breaks down in front of him.

“I've never been real, I never was real,” Hyunjin whimpers out, face crumpling as he spoke, “I’m just something you made to make the pain go away.”

Changbin feels his anger reach new levels, as he stalks a little closer to Hyunjin. 

“Enough!” He growls out, eyes burning with fury. “You’ve always been real to me and that is enough, you’re real to everyone you meet, you’re even real to Jisung. So don’t think, for one second, that you’re not.”

Changbin breathes heavily before his face softens. 

“You still have people who love you.” 

Hyunjin suddenly looks tired, face drained of all the fight before he speaks. 

“You have to let me go, Changbin.” He says, eyes cast to the side. 

Changbin blinks, not understanding Hyunjin’s words fully. He shakes his head incredulously, more dread seeding itself in his head. 

“Hyunjin, what are you talking about-?”

“I’m going to delete myself.”

Changbin’s jaw snaps closed, disbelief in his eyes. He desperately searches Hyunjin’s eyes for any inkling of a lie, but all he finds is serious. Changbin steps back a bit, like he’s just been punched in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. 

“Wh-what?” Changbin stutters out, body shaking. 

“I talked to Spika, you know? The AI who helped you create me?” Hyunjin says, walking over to the large holo screen, where the map usually sits. “I talked to her, and she said she’s willing to take over for me, when I’m gone.” 

Hyunjin waves his hand over the screen, a loading bar appearing. It’s at 78%, and the number makes Changbin’s stomach drop. 

“She’s already being downloaded into the harddrive,” Hyunjin explains, eyes looking carefully at the screen, “As that’s happening, I’m downloading my file into the ship, where I’ll delete myself. Forever.” 

Changbin feels the fight come back in his body, fost clenching at his sides. 

“How the fuck can you be so selfish?” He barks out, shocking Hyunjin who whirls around to look at him. “What the fuck do those memories of us together, when we were just Jin and Spear.B mean to you? What about Minho, huh? What does Jisung even mean to you?” 

Hyunjin gaped at him, mouth opening and closing as he tried to form a sentence. 

“Hyunjin, you are very much real, and if you think that for one second, that removing yourself permanently from our lives is going to fix anything, it’s not.” 

Changbin breathes heavily, the adrenaline in his system reaching the fever point as he stares challengingly at Hyunjin. A long, loaded silence envelops the two. 

Hyunjin stares at Changbin in surprise. Changbin stares unflinchingly back, not willing to back down. Hyunjin feels his shoulders loosen, his mouth opening to speak, but he is interrupted by a loud shriek. Both whip their heads to the cockpit door, watching as two Kalurian guards storm through. A pair of Golxians follow them, Jisung struggling in their hold. 

Hyunjin’s eyes widened, before turning around and hastily pulling up the COMM feed for outside. Four guardships are parked around them; two hovering in the air above, while the others flank them on the ground.

Changbin feels his body automatically move, fear coursing in his veins as he sees the frightened look in Jisung’s eyes. 

“Jisung-!” Changbin yells, striding forward, his hand reaching for his knife.

One Kalurian guard catches him off guard by smacking him across the face with his heavy-duty phaser gun, sending Changbin to the floor. He groans, head spinning and blood welling up in his mouth from the hit. Changbin weakly pushes himself up on his hands, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. He wheezes, head feeling cloudy as he tries to regain his bearings. 

_ “No!”  _ Jisung shrieks, struggling against the Golxians holding him hostage.

Jisung flails around, grunting helplessly against the iron grip the two guards have on him. He pushes and pulls against their arms, breath coming out heavily as he tries to break free. 

In seconds, two more Kalurian guards enter, surrounding the disoriented Changbin on the ground. Jisung watches in horror as they begin to beat him, two of the guards dragging Changbin up, while the other two take turns punching and kicking at him. Changbin struggles, but the blow to his head has taken a toll on him. He spits up blood, the red staining his teeth. He feels his ribs crack and break, from a particularly hard jab from one of the guards. He tries to pull his arms out of the other two’s grip, but he can’t seem to find an opening. 

The noise surrounding him is disjointed and echoing. Changbin can’t catch his breath, feeling winded, almost like the oxygen was being sucked right out his lungs. He hears Jisung scream for them to stop, before a harsh, resounding smack is heard. Changbin’s frenzied thoughts come to a screeching halt.

They’d hit him, they had hit Jisung. 

Changbin turns his head to look at Jisung, one eye half-closed and blackening slowly. His vision is blurry, but he can still make out the outline of Jisung kneeling on the floor now, holding one hand to his cheek. He then hears white noise, static and overwhelming as he tries to free himself. Changbin roars deep in his chest, a guttural, animalistic sound. He pulled against his captors, wanting to kill the Golxian guard for so much as even laying a finger on Jisung. 

Hyunjin is unable to do anything but watch. Horror grips his body, eyes wide as he takes in the sight of Changbin, unable to do anything but take the hits he receives. Panic wells up in his chest, a tight feeling that even he should not be able to feel anymore. Instead of pandering on that odd feeling, he steps back carefully, having not been noticed by the guards yet. With a shaking hand he reaches backwards behind him and presses a button. He does this, without even looking behind him a few more times, fingers tapping quietly on the keyboard. He’s almost finished in his task, when one of the Golxian guards that was holding Jisung catches sight of him. 

Hyunjin gulps, frightened eyes locking with the guards' own steely ones. 

_ “Stop the AI!”  _ He yells, pointing past the Kalurian guards beating Changbin up. 

One of the Kalurian guards breaks off, stalking towards Hyunjin quickly. Hyunjin turns around frantically, hands flying over the keyboard as he tries to finish his task before the guard can reach him. Hyunjin then gasps, immediately blinking out of existence when his harddrive is violently pulled from the console. The guard throws it to the floor, the drive clattering a bit in a circle, before the guard is crushing it underneath his foot. 

Time seems to stop, as Changbin watches as the drive carrying the memories of his best friend, his brother, is violently taken from him. He feels the fight slowly seep out of him, eyes growing heavy as he focuses on the glittering, metallic pieces on the floor.

The guard just smiles, a horrible, manic and evil smile. He laughs, as do the others, Jisung kneeling on the floor in shock before his mind can catch up to his mouth. 

Jisung screams, a horrible, broken-off noise as he stares at the drive, now crushed into a billion pieces. He wails, heart burning in his chest, the pain so bad Jisung feels like his heart is being torn apart inside him. He curls into a ball, wailing horribly. He can’t think, he can’t breathe, all he can feel is the heavy weight of something he carries in his overall pockets. It presses against his chest, and Jisung sobs harder. 

Changbin’s head finally lolls to the side, having been beaten into submission by the guards. They drop him to the floor, Changbin’s body hitting it heavily upon impact. He lies on his front, head resting on the floor on his cheek. Through his one blackened eye he can see the remains of Hyunjin’s drive scattered across the floor. Weakly, he reaches a hand out to the broken remains of Hyunjin's harddrive. His fingers tremble, weak and shaking as he tries to crawl to the pieces. But his body won’t cooperate, so he is forced to lay there, tears blurring his vision. 

Having heard Changbin’s body hit the floor, Jisung pulls himself up, dodging the hands trying to grab him as he rushes forward to his side. He slides on his feet, dropping harshly to his knees. He pushed Changbin’s body onto his back, face crumpling once more. Jisung cries, pearlescent tears dripping down his cheeks as he takes in Changbin’s broken face. Jisung sobs, breaths harsh and choked as he cups his bloody and bruised cheek in his soft, small hand. He whimpers, hand clutching at the pendant on his chest. 

Changbin watches through tired eyes, the light in the dim cockpit catching on the tears dripping off his cheeks. They’re so pretty, in the light, they twinkle, almost mockingly at him. The tiny stars in them laughed at him as he tried to speak. With heavy eyes, he thinks back to something that he once read as a child... 

_ When humans first met Kalurians, they likened their appearance to that of the mythical elves that humans had once wove stories about. Otherworldly, beautiful, and ethereal, they were highly intelligent, and built much like humans. They were categorized as a humanoid species; one with similarities in the dozens to humans. But the one thing besides their metallic blood and array of bold eye colours, that was different from humans, was the pearlescent tears that fell from their eyes. The tears that held an entire galaxy in each little drop. The first human to have ever seen a Kalurian cry, likened their tears to that of the Milky Way galaxy, home to the human race.... _

Jisung’s eyes widened, sobs catching in his throat watching as Changbin drifted off. He shook his head violently, hands gripping onto Changbin’s shirt. 

_ “No! No, please, wake up, Changbin!” _ Jisung cries, burying his face against his chest. 

_ “Please don’t leave me! Please!”  _ He screams in his chest, feeling Changbin’s heartbeat slow. 

It feels like he’s sitting there for a millenia, forced to watch as Changbin is slowly taken away from him. 

In an instant, he’s roughly pulled back, his hands reaching out to grab a hold of Changbin's body again. Jisung screams horribly, struggling violently in the Golxian’s hold. He twists and turns, kicking and biting and shrieking as loud as he can. The Golxian guard eventually grows tired of Jisung’s tantrum, and just harshly knocks Jisung on the back of the neck. It effectively knocks the young prince out, Jisung letting out a choked noise as the darkness consumes him. Jisung slumps in his hold, the guard throwing the prince over his shoulder like he weighed nothing at all. 

The one Kalurian guard makes a motion with his hands, barking out orders and signaling the others to exit the cockpit. They do not look back at Changbin’s slowly dying form, leaving the ship and bounty hunter’s body to rot on the planet. 

When Changbin hears the ships fly off, a single tear falls down his cheek, before the darkness swallows him whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *laughs nervously* look i know what you're probably thinking. she really wouldn't do that, right??? Welp, i did and trust me this chapter had been what started this fic in the first place. 
> 
> come scream at me from the feels on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) or yell at me through [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola), whatever floats your boat. 
> 
> seeya next week for chap 12! This fic is coming to an end soon, so the next 3? chaps will be the last ones. have a good day, evening, or night and love you all!!! <3


	12. Like The North Star, I'll Find You Always

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ta da!!!!! its chapter twelve, earlier than expected!!!! (ﾉ>ω<)ﾉ :｡･:*:･ﾟ’★,｡･:*:･ﾟ’☆
> 
> i thought i'd save a few more days of suffering and breaking hearts by posting this today! 
> 
> anywho, read on!! (comments and kudos are appreciated if you haven't yet!)

Jisung sits on his bed, curled up into a ball. He just woke up here a few hours ago, disoriented and dazed. He stares across the room to the wall, eyes boring into it. His head rests on his knees, arms wrapped tightly around his legs. He hasn’t taken his shoes off, not caring about getting the fine linen sheets dirty with the soles of his white converse. 

He’s not really paying attention to anything, too busy counting the flowers on the ugly wallpaper. Jisung can’t believe he used to live here, sleep here. It seems so, gaudy. Was this really him? Was this really who he was? This prince made of finery and jewels, fearful respect and no future? 

He sighed, burying his head in his knees when the door opened. He startles, uncurling from his sitting position. King Casfen waltz into the room with a dark glint in his eyes. A mean smirk rests upon his lips, Jisung suddenly fearful in the other’s presence. There’s something else in his eyes, that unsettles the younger, making him clutch at the sheets. King Casfen was a tall, imposing man, with light blue cat’s eyes, and white-blond hair. He embodied the word ‘ice’, cold to touch and unfeeling in his words. His cat-like ears at the side of his head twitched, tail swishing behind him as he entered.

King Casfen smiles at Jisung, well, tries to. It’s so obviously fake that Jisung tries to swallow down the unease he feels building up in his throat. The glint of his fangs fall from his mouth, causing Jisung to gulp in fear. He’s tense as the King’s eyes rake over, Jisung’s hand clutching at the amulet hanging from his neck for comfort. King Casfen’s eyes narrow at the pendant, a sneer on his lips as he looks at it. 

_“What a gaudy little thing,”_ He says, voice full of disgust as he looks at him, _“On such a beautiful doll.”_

Hurt flashes across Jisung’s face as the older man speaks, fingers gripping the polished stone in his hand tighter. He feels bile rise in the back of his throat, Casfen’s words sending chills up his spine. The man’s words are vile, and Jisung wishes he could get away from the searing eyes, practically undressing him. 

_ “What do you want?”  _ Jisung says, surprised by how even his voice comes out. 

The king smiles crookedly, a haunting image that Jisung wishes to run away from. 

_ “What do you think, I want, princeling?”  _ Casfen drawls out, circling the bed frame. 

He stalks around the bed like Jisung is his prey, and Jisung shuffles back as far as he can on the bed. He wants as much space as he can to be between them, but Casfen just grows ever closer. 

Jisung’s mouth opens, trying to find the words to answer the question, when Casfen’s eyes flash, slitted pupils turning into tiny slivers. In a flash, Jisung is pulled forward by the collar, the king face to face with him. He gasps, trying to struggle out of the other’s grip, but Casfen moves his head to the side, eyes trailing down his neck. Jisung watches as anger floods his face, red tinting his eyes.

_ “He touched you, didn’t he? That filth!”  _ Casfen spat out, pulling Jisung’s collar down to expose the hickeys that Changbin had left the day? Night before? 

Jisung feels tears well up at the corners of his eyes. He weakly tries to shove Casfen off, but the other looms over him menacingly. He feels violated, shame flushing his body as Casfen tries to undress him. 

_ “No!”  _ Jisung shrieks, pushing the other off him in a surprising turn of events. 

Jisung pants, watching as Casfen stumbles back. He’s shocked, head turning to look at Jisung slowly, before fury etches itself on his face. Jisung skitters back fearfully, tears falling down his cheeks as the other advances towards him. 

He gasps, when Casfen grabs his neck in his clawed hand, squeezing hard enough that Jisung feels scared. 

_ “You, belong to  _ **_me_ ** _ ,” _ Casfen hisses out, watching as tears spill down Jisung’s full cheeks. 

He drops Jisung to the bed, before turning promptly on his heel and exiting the room. Jisung stares at the door gasping for breath. He rubs at his throat, the adrenaline wearing off before fury takes its place. 

Jisung screams, throwing a vase at the ornate door. He pulls the sheets from his bed and tears the pillows apart, frustration and anger reaching a fever point. With a shout, he topples over the dresser, watching as the drawers opened and out spilled clothes of every colour imaginable. 

Breathing heavily, he drops to his knees and starts tearing the clothes apart. He can’t bear to look at the finery anymore, so used to soft, cheap material and denim that he doesn’t realize he’s crying again until the tears drop onto his trembling hands. Looking down he can see the black, polished stone pendant dangle from his neck, and a sob gurgles up from his throat. 

He curls into a ball, wailing so loud, that the guards outside his room can hear him. He shivers, frame trembling with each ragged breath he took. His mind replays the last day's events in deep clarity, only adding to his suffering. Jisung takes in a shuddering breath, trying to calm himself, but it only gets worse when the image of Hyunjin’s broken drive and Changbin’s bloodied face pass by his mind’s eyes. He falls to his side on the floor, curled up in a tiny ball as he cries so hard, his lungs feel like they’re burning.

His hand clutches at the stone pendant like a lifeline, the symbol on the stone burning into his palm. 

Changbin blinks his eyes open blearily, taking in his surroundings groggily. It's his bedroom, which looks exactly how he left it. He winces, as he lifts himself up into a sitting position, bones aching and head splitting open. Changbin throws his legs over the side of the bed, hand clutching his side in pain. He groans, hand coming up to hold his forehead as his head adjusts to the new position, when he hears the door hiss open. 

“You’re lucky,” A familiar voice says, “The internal bleeding wasn’t so bad. If I’d had come any later you’d have been a goner.” 

Changbin lifts his head slowly, his one good eye opening in surprise. 

“M-Minho? How’d you…?” Changbin chokes out, voice rough and dry. 

Minho smiles wirely at him, concern painted in his eyes as he looks at his friend. Minho is dressed in his usual attire, black coveralls and goggles resting on his head. A bandana is wrapped around his neck, the paisley pattern hurting Changbin’s eyes as he looks at it. He’s holding a cup in his hands, as he leans against the doorframe. 

Changbin wets his lips, throat rough and sore. He feels the bitter and metallic taste of his blood on his tongue after he speaks. Minho hands him a cup of water which Changbin takes eagerly. He drinks like he hasn't had a drunk in days, water slipping down his chin and neck as he takes eager gulps.

Minho walks in, stopping by the window on the right side of the room. He sighs as he looks out into the jungle. 

“Hyunjin was able to contact me in time, I got here as fast as I could,” Minho explained, worry lining his voice. “You’ve been out for at least 3 days, now.” 

At Hyunjin’s name, Changbin looked up quickly. His eyes held a deep fear in them as he opened his mouth to ask. 

“Is-Is he-?” He asks brokenly, eyes drifting to the floor.

There’s a heavy silence, Changbin feeling the urge to cry well up in his throat when Minho doesn’t respond immediately. Then, a voice breaks the silence. 

“He’s perfectly fine, is what he would say if you’d asked him directly,” A voice sniped, instead of Minho’s, causing Changbin to look up and see Hyunjin standing at his bedroom door, "I was able to finish transfering my data to the ship at the last second."

Blinking, Changbin stood up, face in disbelief as he stared at him. In front of him, stood a very solid, very visible, not holographic, Hyunjin. He was dressed in the outfit he was programmed in, a white t-shirt and black ripped jeans and sneakers. His hair is long and black, slight waves in it. An array of silver earrings lining his earlobes, glinting softly in the light. His face is the same, he looks exactly the same, but he’s real, not a hologram. 

Hyunjin looked away awkwardly, before clearing his throat. 

“Minho, made this for me,” He said, gesturing at his body, which was now solid and visible, “Look, there’s no reason to get all worked up, okay-?”

Hyunjin is abruptly cut off when he feels a body crash into his. He stops, hands fluttering about, before resting on Changbin’s shaking back. They stand there in silence, before Changbin speaks up. 

“I thought I lost you again,” Changbin murmured into his shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around Hyunjin’s new form. “I thought I failed you again.”

Hyunjin’s face softened, eyes looking over at Minho briefly who nodded. With a breath he still didn’t need, Hyunjin began to speak. 

“You never lost me, hyung,” Hyunjin said quietly, now hugging Changbin back tightly, “I was always here.” 

Changbin pulled away, confusion painted on his face as he looked between Minho and Hyunjin. 

Minho smiled a bit, before explaining. “Hyunjin is  _ the  _ original Hyunjin, Changbin.”

Changbin stepped back a bit, brain trying to process the words as Minho continued on.

“When you sent me his code, I wasn’t expecting much, thought he’d be like every other AI,” Minho said, walking towards the pair, “But, the more I dug, the more, things started to not make sense. It was like his code was mapped out like a human brain. The pinnacle of illogical programming.”

Changbin blinked, turning to Minho with an incredulous look. 

“But, that means-?” Changbin shook his head, head spinning even more now, “That’s impossible? No one’s been able to do that for centuries how can-?”

Changbin whipped his head back to Hyunjin, who had a watery smile on his face. 

“Guess I was the first,” Hyunjin said, as a way of explanation. 

Minho chuckled, watching as Changbin’s face went through a series of different emotions all in the span of five seconds. 

“He’s the real deal, Changbin,” Minho said, coming up to Hyunjin and throwing an arm around his shoulders, “The first human consciousness transferred into an AI, in the history of the known universe.” 

Changbin turned to look at Hyunjin, then back at Minho, before his face crumpled. The pair watched in shock as Changbin slowly fell to his knees, sobbing like a child. They stood there unsure of what to do. Carefully, Hyunjin kneeled down in front of Changbin, gently pulling the other into his arms to comfort him. 

“I’m so happy-” Changbin sobbed out, hands coming up and gripping at Hyunjin’s arms. 

It hurt to cry, but Changbin was just so overwhelmed with emotion, he just couldn't stop the sobs falling from his lips. 

Hyunjin kneeled there, head resting on Changbin’s shoulder. He felt a feeling he’d never thought he’d feel again, grip at his throat. Struggling to hold it down, Hyunjin eventually broke as well. With a shuddering breath, Hyunjin buried his face into the crook of Changbin’s neck. 

“Hyung-” Hyunjin choked out, feeling water slide down his cheeks, “Hyung, I’m home.” 

Changbin sobbed at Hyunjin’s words, the two holding each other as they cried. 

Minho smiled, happy for the two. He felt a few stray tears leak from his eyes, which he wiped away with a huff. 

Eventually, Hyunjin pulled back, face splotchy as he spoke. His voice was watery and full of self-loathing.

“I’m sorry, hyung it was my fault,” Hyunjin stuttered out, furiously wiping at his face, “We shouldn't have gone to the junkyard, I should’ve listened to you more, I should’ve-”

Changbin shook his head. “No, you did nothing wrong Hyunjin, we never expected that to happen to us, alright? It was out of our control, and we were too young and helpless to do anything back then. None of it was your fault, I’ve never thought that, never.”

Hyunjin looked up, wiping away the last of his tears when Changbin spoke again. Changbin gripped his shoulders, forcing Hyunjin to look at him. Hyunjin looked into the other’s tearful eyes, watching as a wide smile bloomed across his face. 

“You’ve always been my little brother, no matter what happens.”

Hyunjin smiled, a watery thing as Changbin smiled even wider back at him. With a huff, Hyunjin wiped furiously at his face before speaking. 

“We have to get Jisung back.” He said, determination in his voice as he spoke.

Changbin’s face hardened, as he remembered how he had failed in keeping Jisung safe. Jisung, whom he swore he’d protect with his life, Jisung who only wanted to live his life freely, without interference from anybody else. Jisung the one he loved more than anything. 

How could Changbin face him now? He’d said those words to him, he made promises to him, and now he was gone. Changbin was a liar again, and he hated it. Changbin felt bitterness well up his throat, his mind turning dark and ugly once again. 

Hyunjin can see the turmoil in the other’s eyes, and knows the other is blaming himself again. 

“Hyung,” Hyunjin says softly, pulling Changbin out of his desolate thoughts, “It wasn’t your fault, we were caught by surprise. Jisung doesn’t blame you, I know he doesn’t.”

Changbin looked up into Hyunjin’s eyes, still a bright, artificial blue because of his AI status. They were bright, and sure in what they said. He looked up at Minho, who smiled and nodded as well.

“Jisung doesn’t seem like the type of person who blames others,” Minho said, he smiled sadly before continuing, “He’s probably blaming himself right about now.”

Changbin looked down, heart feeling heavy as he thought. Jisung was probably alone, and scared. He most likely thought they were dead. He was probably drowning in grief, and Changbin couldn’t take the thought of Jisung being in pain because of him. 

They all sat there in silence, pondering over what they should do. Hyunjin sat there, eyebrows furrowed before his eyes lit up. 

“If we leave now, we can make it in time for the wedding,” Hyunjin said, pulling everyone’s attention to him. “It’s today, but we can still make it, I know we can.”

Changbin looked at Hyunjin, face scrunched into confusion.    
“How do you know that?” Changbin asks, watching as Hyunjin lit up at the question. 

“Oh, Minho gave me a brain that can wirelessly connect to the ship and any database I wish.” Hyunjin explained cheerily, watching as Changbin rolled his eyes fondly at him. 

“Let me tell you,” Minho started off, looking more haggard than normal, “That was no easy feat, making that.”

Changbin chuckled, wincing as pain skirted up his right side. The pair immediately rushed over to Changbin, Minho whipping out a scanner and checking his vitals. 

“Look, you have to take it easy, Changbin,” Minho said, resting his hand against Changbin’s shoulder. 

Changbin shook his head, as he hauled himself up from the floor. He staggered a bit, the other two gently holding him up. 

“Jisung doesn’t have that long,” Changbin croaked out, steadying himself against the wall, “We have to leave now, I don’t have time to be weak, not for him.”

Changbin looked into his eyes with such ferocity that Minho was taken aback. He searched Changbin’s face, but smiled softly once he found what he was looking for. 

“Alright, let’s get going then,” Minho said, watching as Changbin smiled crookedly in return. 

  
  


Jisung ran to the other end of the room, trying to evade the servants who had come to check his measurements for the last time. 

The wedding was today, and Jisung was trying to avoid it as much as he could. He never thought that a wedding would be what stopped the war plaguing his planet for 5 years. A union, between the two planets, it was laughable. And Jisung was never one to think like that. 

The war that had started when Jisung was 14, had taken many things from him. His best friend, his brother, his future. And now it had taken something Jisung would never get back. 

His very first friend since Felix, and his very first love. 

Golxias was not a part of the Galactic Union, it was an outsider. And because it had no affiliations with any universal order, it had been carefully advised by the Union Admirals that waging war with any planets apart of it, would incite dire consequences. Yet Golxias’ former King, Casfen’s father, Farias, had not heeded their warning. 

It had happened with an explosion in the sky as the Golxians suddenly fired at the Jaku space station above the capital city of the royal province, Atima. Jisung remembered watching from the balcony, eyes wide as his mother’s terrified gasp sounded from behind him. 

The war started in the evening, on the 56th day of the Kalurian year. It was the month of Thema, and the Kalurians had just celebrated the Crown Prince's birthday, Jisung’s older brother, Kisun. 

Kisun was a tall, broad man. He had blonde hair, like Jisung and green eyes instead of blue. His eyes were speckled with copper, instead of gold, looking very much like the current king, their father, Aghyun. His smile was wide and friendly, and he was charismatic and made everyone like him without even having to try. Kisun would’ve made a good king, afterall he was groomed from birth to be so. 

Jisung never hated his brother, because Kisun was a good brother. Kisun was always willing to drop everything he was doing in order to give the younger the attention he could not get from their father at times. He played with him, read with him, got into trouble with him. Kisun was there every step of the way for Jisung’s most important milestones. 

So when Kisun was ordered during the war to take control of the Skar space station, the frontline of the battle, Jisung pleaded with him not to go. Jisung could not bear to lose anyone else, not after Felix had left, deciding to join the Galactic Union in an effort to find a way to stop the war from ravaging their home.

So when Jisung watched from the ground, as the Skar space station was blown into smithereens, he felt his heart shatter irreparably.

He’s broken out of his thoughts when the head servant sighs. Jisung looks up, making eye contact with the flustered servants behind the head servant. 

The head servant sighed again, trying to coax the prince over to them. 

_ “Your Highness, please-” _ He sighed out, before a pillow was thrown at his head. 

It connected with the servant’s face, the others gasping at the display. Jisung stuck his tongue out before clambering under the bed. He knew he was acting childish, but Jisung couldn’t help it. 

If they were going to treat him like a child, then he was going to act like one. He glared at the servants from under the bed, who looked at one another helplessly, all at a loss for what to do.

He huffed, turning his head, refusing to move from his spot. 

_ “Let me talk to him,”  _ A voice said from the bedroom door. 

The servants whirled around, all surprised by the person’s entrance. 

_ “My Queen-” _ The Head servant stuttered out, bowing as she glided into the room. 

Jisung frowned, watching as his mother walked into the room. He turned his nose up when he saw her, displeased by her presence. His mother just frowned, before waving the servants off. She smiled gently at the servants, who bowed at her as they left. Jisung’s mother walked towards the bed and sat on it. 

Jisung’s mother, Yifun, was a regal looking woman, and Jisung looked so much like her. She was dressed in lilac robes, her eyes and hair matching Jisung’s own. She had a soft face, and kind eyes. Her smile and laugh had been Jisung’s favourite things as a child. He had always thought his mother was beautiful, always thought she was kind, but the sight of her now made Jisung hurt inside. 

She sighed, looking around the destroyed room before speaking. 

_ “I’m glad you’re home,” _ She said, looking at her hands as she spoke. 

Jisung huffed from underneath the bed, having rolled onto his back. He stared at the bed frame, unwillingly to speak to her. 

His mother smiled a wiry smile.  _ “You always used to hide under the bed when things didn’t go your way, when you were younger.” _

Jisung stayed silent, staring up at the bed frame resolutely. He would not give his mother the satisfaction of knowing she had won. Of knowing that she had destroyed her second son’s chance at happiness. 

_ “I know, this isn’t what you wanted, or planned,”  _ His mother started out, twisting the rings on her fingers,  _ “But it’s what you’re destined to do-” _

Jisung slid out from under the bed, surprising his mother with his presence. Unbridled fury was held in his eyes as he spoke. 

_ “You know nothing about what I was destined to do,”  _ He spat out coldly, eyes brimming with angry tears,  _ “I was happy, and you took that happiness away.” _

_ “Jisung, please, we only want what’s best for you-”  _ His mother said, trying to placate her angry son.  _ “Why can’t you see that? This is also for the good of our people, who don’t want to live in fear anymore.” _

Jisung scoffed, surprising his mother with the unconvinced look on his face. 

_ “Of course, that makes so much sense,”  _ Jisung huffed out, as he stared at his mother,  _ “If you wanted peace, then why were the peace talks called off?” _

Jisung’s mother’s mouth snapped shut, completely caught off guard by her son’s question. He stared at her with burning eyes, waiting to see what she would say. Yifun floundered for words, almost gaping like a fish out of water. 

_ “How-? How do you know that-?” _ His mother stuttered out, face pale as she looked at him. 

_ “A friend told me.” _ He said simply, watching as what appeared to be hope flit across her face, before fear overtook it. 

_ “You-You’re not supposed to know that, Jisung,” _ She stammered out fearfully.  _ “You’re not. Do you have any idea what this wedding means?” _

Jisung watched as his mother changed from calm to fearful in a matter of seconds, his face crumpling in confusion as he watched her. She was now babbling nonsense, his mother’s usual calm demeanor disappearing. He sat up, watching as she paced, the words she was mumbling under breath not making any sense to him. 

_ “Mother, what are you hiding from me, from our people?”  _ He asked, voice breaking as she stopped abruptly, before walking away hurriedly, muttering even more under her breath.

She stopped at the door, hand on the doorknob before looking over her shoulder.

_ “You will marry King Casfen, and you will forget about that bounty hunter,” _ She said stonily, before opening the door and walking out. 

Jisung stared after her, confused by her sudden change in demeanor. A few minutes passed, before the door opened again and the servants came back in. 

He sat there on the floor, head spinning as the servants surrounded him. 

With a sigh, the head servant spoke.  _ “Are you willing to cooperate now, my prince?” _

Changbin limped into the cockpit, Hyunjin helping him walk and Minho carefully observing him. He was pleasantly surprised to see Wooyoung and the rest of ATEEZ standing in there, all in varying states of worry. Wooyoung’s face was concerned as he took in the sight of his friend, who leaned heavily on Hyunjin’s shoulder. 

“Wooyoung...why’re you-?” Changbin spoke out, confused. 

“We came as fast as we could, Hyunjin contacted us,” Wooyoung said, stepping forward, a sorrowful look on his face, “I’m sorry we couldn’t be here faster.”

Changbin shook his head. “You came, that’s all that matters.”

Wooyoung looked up, a small smile on his face at his friend’s words. 

“So, what’re you going to do now?” He asked, curiously. 

Changbin limped forward away from Hyunjin. He walked towards the map, eyes set in determination. 

“We’re going to crash a wedding.” 

A manic smile appeared on Wooyoung’s face at the words. 

“Oh? Got any room for 8 more people?” He said, watching as Changbin smirked at him. 

“If you’re willing to be targets for the whole Kalurian army, by all means, be my guest.”

Wooyoung looked towards a slightly shorter man with long brown hair. He stood there, pondering for a moment, before nodding his head.

“Yes! Crashing a royal wedding has always been on my bucket list!” A voice piped up from beside a tall man with orange hair. 

The short man with black hair, lined with red streaks pumped his fist, an unsettling glint in his dark eyes as he spoke.

Wooyoung shook his head with a laugh, before turning to Changbin with a crooked smile. 

“Well, set course for Kalur then.” 

Jisung sighed, lifting his arms up as the servants dressed him in his outfit for the today. Well, the outfit for the wedding. He frowned, watching himself in the mirror and noting how tired he looked. For the past few days he’d been adamant in not going along with anything they wanted. He fussed, he screamed, asked questions; but nothing worked. 

They all ignored him, intent on sending him off to his doom. They cooed and complimented him when they were finished tying the blue sash around his waist. He lowered his arms, a deep frown on his face as he regarded himself in the mirror. The outfit was the same one he had worn when he had run away. It was a robe made of the finest material on Kalur, in shades of two different blues, a bright, lush one and a soft, light one. White was also a part of the colour scheme, supposed to signify purity and grace. He almost snorted at the thought, but he was too tired to even do so. Another gold circlet sat atop his head, the bright jewel shining brightly in the center. His hair was styled a little off his forehead, lips tinted a bright pink. He supposed he looked good, but Jisung didn’t care much about that now.

He had thrown a fit when they had tried to take the amulet off him. Jisung had been adamant on wearing it, even though the servants said it clashed horribly with his attire. He had huffed, he could care less. This was the only thing he had left, the only thing that told him that the time he spent on that ship, the people it housed, were real. 

Eventually, one of the maids smiled at him, a bright thing. She was completely unaware of the turmoil inside Jisung’s heart. 

“Come my prince,” She said, beckoning him with her hand. “It’s time.”

Jisung felt his heart drop to the soles of his feet. Reluctantly, he followed the maids, who led him to the door of his bedroom. He felt bile rise up in his throat as they opened it, the one maid smiling at him as he passed through. 

He closed his eyes as he followed them down the ornate hallway, a little tear slipping down his cheek. 

Changbin sat in the pilot’s seat readying for take off, while Minho buckled into the navigator's chair. Hyunjin was at his place at the map, hands flying across the screen as he set their course. 

“Alright, Minho hooked me up to the warp core, meaning we can get to Kalur just in time for the wedding in four hours,” Hyunjin said, as he finished up plotting the course.

Changbin nodded, looking outside he saw ATEEZ’s large ship, the Destiny, start to take off from the planet’s surface. Minho’s ship was docked in theirs, as it was much larger than the Black Hawk’s cargo hold. He turned to look at Minho, who was finalizing the course set by Hyunjin and readying the weapons system on his end. 

Just as Changbin was about to start the ship, Hyunjin appeared beside him. 

“Wait,” He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out something, “Jisung wanted you to have this. It must have fallen out his hands in the hallway when he was captured. ”

Changbin looked down into Hyunjin’s outstretched palm, where a small, light blue beaded bracelet, with a bright, large, teal star charm in the middle sat. He stared at the bracelet, one of his hands slowly reaching out for it. He picked up the bracelet, inspecting the little thing with a fond smile. He pulled it gently over his left wrist, before looking up at Hyunjin with a smile. 

“Thanks,” He said gratefully, liking the feeling of the cool beads resting against the inside of his wrist. 

Hyunjin smiled, shaking his head as he did so. 

“No problem, hyung,” Hyunjin murmured, stepping back and going to his station. 

Changbin looked over at Minho who smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He started the ship, the Black Hawk roaring to life as it slowly rose up from the ground. He steadied it, before steering it upwards, where the Destiny waited in the clouds. When he was at a high enough altitude, he COMMed Wooyoung. 

“Okay, when we get in range of Kalur, they’ll probably have a fleet on standby, I need you to distract them so we can break through,” Changbin explained, watching as Wooyoung’s face brightened. 

_ “We can definitely do that for you, right guys?”  _ Wooyoung said over his shoulder, to excited cheers. 

Changbin smiled, before exiting out of the channel. He exhaled slowly, feeling like he had been holding his breath for the whole time Jisung had been gone. Turning his head, he looked over at Hyunjin who nodded at him. 

Looking forward, Changbin pulled the lever beside him, watching as the ship went into warp.

With a bang, the ship pulled itself apart, before settling in a white tunnel of light. Thousands of colours blurred passed them, Changbin’s eyes set on the horizon before him, he would get to Jisung, even if he’d died trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you didn't really think i killed them both, did you???? Ye have little faith in me! 
> 
> i just want to say thank you to everyone that has commented and kudo-ed on this fic as it has reached 2000 hits!!! yayyyy!!!! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆
> 
> your support means a lot to me, and words cannot express how thankful and grateful i am. (*≧ω≦*)
> 
> as before, heres my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) and [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola), come say hi and tell me what you think is gonna happen next!!!
> 
> have a great day, evening, night and love you all!! (⌒▽⌒)♡


	13. A Billion Stars In The Sky, But You Outshine Every One Of Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey!! its me, finn here!! here comes the long awaited wedding crashing!
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!!! onwards!!!!

Four hours seems to fly by too fast, the countdown on the screen beside Changbin going down rapidly. He tightens his grip on the steering wheel, watching as the numbers tick down.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

They burst out of warp with a whine, the ship shuddering as it slows to a glide through space. Immediately, a fleet of Kalurian and Golxian ships are waiting, orbiting the planet. Two Galactic Union Ships are present as well, one that Changbin recognizes as the Hermes. Changbin spies the Destiny fly right in front of them, blocking the massive fleet’s view of them. Wooyoung’s voice crackles through the COMM. 

_ “Hurry! Now’s your chance, we’ll distract them!” _

5 small fighter ships break off from the Destiny, zooming fast through space. They fire towards the first row of guard ships, bright red beams of light hitting some. The enemy reacts fast, their attention now on the five pesky fighter ships and the larger one firing at them. 

Changbin puts the ship into drive, zooming fast through the ships passing them. He expertly pilots them through the lines of ships guarding the planet, beelining for the atmosphere. 

A few ships break off from the fleet, having caught sight of the Black Hawk. 

“We got a couple of bogeys!” Hyunjin yells, hands flying across the screen. 

Changbin swears, pushing the ship to go faster. They break through the last of the atmosphere with a bang, the ship now flying even faster in the sky of Kalur. The city of Atima glimmers below them, the sunlight bouncing off the golden structures like a beacon. The castle sits in the center, the large building made of towering spires and small buildings. 

“Alright, I found out where the wedding is being held,” Hyunjin shouts out, steadying himself when Changbin makes a harsh turn. “It’s being held in a cathedral on the grounds of the castle.”

“Of fucking course it is,” Changbin hissed through his teeth, as he dodged shots fired from behind him, “Where else would they hold it?” 

The ships pursuing them were relentless, intent of getting them to fall from the sky in a rain of fire. Changbin grunted, before swearing when he saw more ships rise up in front of them from the city. At least six more guardships rise from the ground near the castle, zooming fast towards them. They begin to fire at them, Changbin pulling the ship up to evade them briefly. 

“We got company,” Hyunjin called out, watching as six more red dots appeared in pursuit of them. 

“I can see that!” Changbin sniped back, putting the ship in a harsh dive downwards. 

Minho sat there, shaking his head in disbelief as he readied the weapon’s system. 

“I can’t believe you’re still bickering even when we could be shot outta the sky at any second!”

Changbin cracked a smile at Minho’s words, steering the ship through the crowd of ships that appeared before him. 

More kept appearing, and Changbin knew he had to do something otherwise they were never going to get there in one piece. After maneuvering the ship to face the fleet of guardships after them, Changbin turned to Hyunjin. 

“I need you to pilot the ship,” He said, watching as Hyunjin’s eyes widened. 

“B-but I’m not as good as you-” Hyunjin stammered out. 

“Bullshit! You were the second best recruit when we did flight simulators,” Changbin barked out, watching as the ships came closer, “I know you can do this.”

Hyunjin looked at Changbin, eyes taking in the look in Changbin’s eyes. Slowly, Hyunjin nodded, quickly running up to the pilot’s chair. Changbin stood up, putting the ship in auto before turning to Hyunjin. 

“I know how we can get these assholes off our tail,” Changbin said, resting his hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, “So don’t be too fancy as you fly around, alright?”

Hyunjin nodded, watching as Changbin brushed past him. Huffing, Hyunjin sat in the chair, pulling the wheel towards him. With determined eyes, he looked at Minho. 

“Ready?” He asked. 

Minho smirked, hands gripping the weapon trigger. 

“You bet.”

Hyunjin smiled crookedly, before turning autopilot off. 

“Alright, fire!” 

Felix bit his lip, hands wringing in his lap as they sat at the front of the cathedral, in the first row. Their plans had fallen through, unable to get the necessary forms and orders from the Union in time to counter the wedding.  _ There’s not enough evidence _ , one official had said,  _ and we can’t interfere with negotiations with Union members _ . Felix had grown livid, almost screaming as soon as him and the captain had gone off call. He’d been so angry, so frustrated, did none of the evidence they had found mean anything to them? Now Jisung was doomed to marry the Golxian King. And Felix was doomed to watch his planet fall under a wretched man’s rule. 

Seungmin sits to his right, as well as Jeongin, a young human cadet. They were the only three Galactic Union crew members from the Hermes allowed to attend the wedding, along with their captain, Chan. 

His mind's a mess, thinking about his best friend whom he failed to protect. He’s broken from his worrying as a hand covers his own. He jolts, turning to look at Chan who smiles at him sadly. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we can figure something out.” 

Chan looks at him with such hope that Felix can’t help but believe him. Nodding his head, he sighed and looked down. It’s quiet, except for the murmurs of all the guests gathered in the cathedral for the wedding. 

Chan looks forward, thinking hard when his COMM beeps. He looks down, digging through his pocket and taking the device out. He pops it into his ear, listening to the frantic voice of the Hermes’ deck crew. 

He furrowed his eyebrows, before speaking. 

“What do you mean they broke through the fleet? Who broke through?”

Felix snaps his head to look at Chan, who listens intently. Hope wells in his heart as a disbelieving smile crosses his face. 

“It’s them, it has to be,” He breathes out, watching as Chan’s head turns to him. 

“Who?” He says, before realization dawns on his face as the Union member describes the ship. 

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He mutters, listening as his crew member gives him the ID of the ship. “It’s the Black Hawk.”

A wide smile breaks out across Felix’s face, hands coming up to discreetly fist pump. Chan smiles, before directing his attention to his crew member talking in his ear. He gets up, walking off to the side to hear him more clearly. 

“They survived, they’re coming for Jisung!” Felix feels tears well up in his eyes, joy exploding in his chest. 

Knowing that Changbin and Hyunjin are on their way puts his heart at ease. His eyes flicker to the front of the cathedral, throat seizing when he notices King Casfen waltz in from the left side. The crowd quiets slightly, all eyes on the Golxian King as he stands at the end of the aisle, in front of the altar. 

He stands proud, tall and full of himself. Felix feels a sneer cross his face, the smug look on his face making him sick. The King stands there with his arms behind his back, dressed in elegant light green, emerald and gold robes. His white-blonde hair is styled impeccably, and a heavy golden crown rests atop his head. The King’s tail swishes nonchalantly behind him, almost pleased with itself. 

King Casfen catches sight of Felix glaring at him, and his smirk widens, a fang popping out as he grins manically at the younger Kalurian. Felix feels his hands ball into fists, a snarl marring his elfish face. 

“That asshole, he knows we can’t do anything!” Felix muttered, catching the attention of Seungmin. 

“I know, we can’t do jack shit because this is what Kalur wants,” Seungmin says dryly, eyes holding contempt in them, “And for the record? I’d like to wipe that smarmy look off his face too.” 

Jeongin wrings his hands nervously in his lap, a pensive look on his face. 

“Do-Do you think Spear.B will get here in time?” 

Jeongin looks at his two seniors with such worry, it makes the older ones’ hearts clench. 

“All we can do is hope,” Chan says, sitting back down next to Felix.

Felix looks back at his captain, who stares ahead, eyes bright with something. 

Hyunjin snarls, executing a sharp turn when a guardianship explodes into fire on his right. Minho sits up straighter, eyes flickering over the sky as a few more burst into fireballs, falling from the sky like comets. 

_ “Fucking pricks,” _ Changbin’s voice crackles through the COMM system. 

“Holy shit, Changbin was that you?” Hyunjin calls, watching as a few more blow up. 

Changbin stands on the top of the Black Hawk, anchored to it with cable. He’s wearing his NOVA suit, the black metal slightly worn and scratched. In his arms, he holds a large cannon, pointed at incoming guardships. 

_ “Been wanting to test this photon cannon since Halfa,” _ Changbin yells, firing up another couple shots. 

Hyunjin smiles, steering the ship into the airspace above the castle. Minho helps with stragglers, the fleet after them thinning out considerably with the use of the photon cannon.

In the distance, Hyunjin catches sight of the cathedral. He pushes the ship forward, knowing Changbin has already caught sight of it from outside. 

It's an old, ostentatious building, made of gold and sandy brick. The large stained glass windows hold pictures of old deities and mythical creatures of Kalurian culture. 

_ “That it?”  _ Changbin asks, kneeling and setting the cannon down beside him.

“Yup, that fucking ugly thing,” Hyunjin curses, barreling straight for it. 

Minho looks up, watching as they come closer to it each passing second. 

“Wait, how are you going to infiltrate the building?” Minho asks, pulling up a map of the surrounding area. “There’s guards stationed at each entrance!”

Changbin chuckles.  _ “Yeah, but not that one.” _

Minho furrows his eyebrows, scanning for an entry point when realization hits him. 

“You crazy motherfucker, you’re not really going to-?” Minho cuts himself off, bewildered by the idea. 

_ “That’s right, I’m gonna jump.” _

Jisung worries his lip, hands bunched into his robes. He stands beside his parents, who smile weakly at him. He’s shaking, heart practically shooting straight out of his chest when the music starts. His parents link their arms with his, flanking him on both sides. The door to his right opens slightly, and he can see the mass of different aliens already in attendance. 

His parents lead him through the door, before turning to stand at the beginning of the aisle. Slowly, they begin to walk, Jisung feeling like his legs were made of wood. Every step closer takes him to his doom, to the man at the end. The man who holds his future in the very palm of his hand. 

He thinks he should be crying, right about now, but he’s so devoid of feeling that when they finally reach the altar, all Jisung can do is breath. His parents both kiss him on the forehead, before leaving him to stand beside Casfen. Jisung gulps, turning to face the other who looks so pleased with himself, that he feels bile well up in his throat. 

_ “You look marvelous, my dear,”  _ Casfen murmurs, causing a shudder to rise through Jisung’s body. 

He tries not to flinch when the priest tells them to hold hands, his fingers loathing the feel of the man’s smooth skin on his. The claws on his fingers dig into his hands, almost possessively, and Jisung chances a look behind him, where his parents and the crew of the Hermes sit in the front row. 

Felix looks livid, face red as Chan holds him back by the shoulder. The Altara looks stony-faced, body tense, while the human cadet beside them chews at his bottom lip nervously. 

He looks back, and winces at the look in Casfen’s eyes. 

Then the priest begins to speak. 

“Are you ready, Changbin?” Hyunjin calls though the COMM, hands focusing on piloting the ship, while Minho manned the weapons. 

_ “Let’s get Jisung back,”  _ Changbin says, detaching himself from the ship.

The cable detaches itself with a clunk, the cable sliding back into the haul of the ship. Hyunjin snarls, gunning towards the window of the cathedral, the bright stained glass shining mockingly at him. 

“Now!” Hyunjin yells, giving Changbin a few seconds to run across the length of the ship and jump. 

When he sees Changbin jump from the bow of the ship, Hyunjin pulls up, trying to find a place to land. Changbin soars through the air, arms coming up as he breaks through the glass of the large window with a resounding shatter. 

Jisung trembles, dread filling the pit in his stomach as the ceremony nears its end. Casfen looks practically malicious, his grin unsightly as he stares at Jisung. He feels sweat bead upon his brow, limbs shaking heavily as the priest turns to him and asks him a question. 

He gulps, memories flashing before his eyes, tears brimming in them as he tries to swallow down the urge to cry. 

But just as he’s about to open his mouth, a crash is heard. 

The first thing Changbin notices when he lands from the broken cathedral window, is how beautiful Jisung looks. He’s dressed in similar attire to when he first met him, light blue, white and cerulean robes wrapped tightly around his form. A crystal headdress adorns his hair, blond and perfectly styled. His lips and cheeks are flushed bright pink, and his eyes are wide as he looks in the direction of the disturbance. The amulet, the one his mother had given him, still rests around Jisung’s neck, clashing with his otherwise elegant attire. 

Changbin straightens up from his crouch, glass shards falling from his frame as he rises. When he stands up, he looks straight at Jisung. The crowd murmurs amongst themselves as he walks forward, eyes set on the prince at the end of the aisle.

Slowly, recognition seeps into Jisung’s face, face crumpling as he recognizes the battle-scarred suit and the graffiti painted on the left arm. Jisung bolts from his place beside King Casfen, barreling right into Changbin’s awaiting arms halfway down the aisle. Changbin lifts him gently, spinning them in a little circle from the force of the younger ramming into him. Jisung’s shoulders shake, slight trembles as he sobs into the metal plating of his NOVA suit. 

Jisung pulls back, watching as the face plate slides up and reveals Changbin’s bruised face. 

_ “You-You’re okay, you came for me,” _ He whimpers,  _ “You really did.” _

“Of course I did,” Changbin murmurs, hand coming up to cup the others cheek, “You’re mine, Jisung, forever and always.”

Jisung breaks into a new round of tears, smashing his lips against Changbin’s in a passionate kiss. Changbin kisses just as fiercely back, hand gripping his waist and cheek. It doesn’t matter that King Casfen is silently fuming at the sight, or that the guests are gasping and whispering amongst themselves.

Felix claps his hands together smiling happily at the pair. Chan gives a small grin, glad that Changbin had made it here just in time. 

King Casfen snarls, before turning to the guards lining the walls. 

“Don’t just stand there! Do something!” He roars, pointing at the pair. 

Changbin pulls Jisung behind him, watching as the guards all rush to move from their spots. He’s ready for the first one that comes barreling at them, when a shot rings out from behind them. 

Changbin looks behind him, and smiles when he sees Hyunjin and Minho rush in through the front doors. Minho has what looks to be a pipe in his hands, violently bashing guards over the head with it. Hyunjin has a phaser, his marksmanship not even having rusted in his new form. 

He feels Jisung tense beside him before a joyful yell rips from his throat. 

_ “Minho! Hyunjin!!!”  _

Jisung feels tears come to his eyes as he sees the other to take out the guards behind them. He’s so happy to see that Hyunjin was alright, and that Minho was here, fighting for him too. 

Changbin turns his head back just in time to grab the spear shooting out from the guards hands. He spins, throwing the guard hard. Jisung yelps, stepping back a bit, as he watches Changbin slice and slash at the guards with his Quark knife. 

A guard slips past his defense, heading straight for Jisung when a knife flies through the air and hits him in the back of the neck. The guard slumps to the ground, and Jisung looks up to see Felix standing on the bench, heaving as he holds two more knives in his hands.

_ “Touch him and I swear-!”  _ Felix roars, jumping into the crowd of guards surrounding them. 

He lands beside Jisung, who smiles happily at his best friend. Felix smiles back, before turning to a guard and kicking him in the chest. Seungmin and Jeongin follow Felix as well, Chan shaking his head before joining them as well. 

The guards skitter to a stop, unsure if they should fight them, now that Chan and his crew were surrounding them. They’re at a stand still, Changbin and Jisung surrounded by Chan, Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin. If the guards attack the Galactic Union, would that be seen as an act of war? But the crew of the Hermes, was guarding a infamous bounty hunter, hadn’t they just committed treason against their own organization? 

Casfen snarled, striding up the aisle to where the group stood. He grabbed a phaser from a guards holster, and began shooting at the group. 

“Fuck, take cover!” Chan yelled out, signaling everyone to duck behind the benches, when an opposing shot hit the phaser out of Casfen’s hand.

Casfen howled, clutching at his burnt hand as he glared at the intruder. The group and the remaining guests turned and gasped, noticing the trio. 

In the middle of two other Galactic Union officers, stood the Galactic Admiral for this sector of the universe, Admiral Han.

She was a short woman, of about 5’7. She had pale skin, and sharp eyes as she regarded the situation before her. Admiral Han was the youngest admiral in the Union, and was half Chinese and half Draken. Admiral Han had stark silver hair, and two different coloured eyes. Her right eye was bright blue, while her left eye was a glittering gold. She had two, horizontal scars covering the bridge of her nose and crossing into her cheekbones. 

As soon as the crew of the Hermes saw her, they stood at attention. 

“Admiral Han!” Chan barked out, causing the crew of the Hermes to salute her. 

Admiral Han chuckled, before speaking. 

“At ease, Captain and crew,” She said, walking forward slowly.

Chan looked ashamed, head bowed as he apologized to his superior.

“I’m sorry, Admiral, for disobeying your orders-but we could not let this injustice go so easily,” Chan said, looking back up into the Admiral’s eyes. 

She smiled, raising her hand and shaking her head briefly at Chan, before turning to Jisung. “I’m sorry it took so long for us to get our facts straight, but you won’t be marrying the king anymore.”

Silence rocked the room, Casfen bristling with anger as he watched the Admiral pin her intense eyes on him.

“We’ve found your ploy, King Casfen,” She said simply, before continuing on, “You are under arrest by the Galactic Union for blackmail, as well as a long list of intergalactic war crimes committed against a Union planet, as well as trying to take over a planet by means of marriage.”

Casfen turned red in the face. He was practically frothing at the mouth as Admiral Han spoke. 

Changbin’s group looked perplexed, shocked and surprised by the news. While, Chan and the crew of the Hermes watched on. 

Admiral Han motioned for the two officers beside her to arrest Casfen, who quickly tried to make a break for it. Just as he turned around, a sword was pointed to his throat, and the remaining guests gasped as they saw the Kalurian Queen Yifun, stand there. 

_ “Take one more step,”  _ She growled out, digging the point of the sword hard enough to draw blood into his neck,  _ “And I swear you will rue the day you ever tried to take both my sons from me.” _

The one Galactic Union officer procured a set of handcuffs from his belt, pulling the Golxian King’s arms behind his back. He began to rattle off the complete list of crimes the King was under arrest for, the group watching silently. The two officers began to escort the King out of the cathedral, while more Galactic Union officers began to enter the building. 

“Admiral Han,” A voice said beside her. 

The Admiral looked beside her, smiling gently at the officer who stood there. 

“Should we arrest the bounty hunter as well? He’s currently wanted by the Union,” The officer asked, voice lilting at the end. 

Admiral Han looked over to the group, watching as Jisung hugged Hyunjin and Minho at the same time, happy tears rolling down his cheeks. Felix clapped his hands together happily, before joining in on the hug too, surprising Hyunjin and Minho. Chan stood off to the side, Changbin next to him. They smiled silently, watching as Seungmin pulled Felix away from the trio in exasperation. 

She smiled, chuckling slightly before shaking her head. 

“Let me handle this, okay?” She said, before walking up to the group. 

Chan laughed when Felix swatted at Seungmin, Jisung trying to calm the pair down to no avail. Hyunjin looked on, exasperated, but the captain could see the fondness in his eyes, along with Minho’s own wide grin. 

He straightened up, when Admiral Han walked towards the pair, Changbin looking at the woman warily. 

“I knew I could trust you to find out what was going on here,” Admiral Han said, a proud smile on her face.

“Admiral,” Chan breathed out surprised before watching as she turned to Changbin. 

“I heard from Felix, that you and your AI, Hyunjin, were actually going to enter the Galactic Union Academy,” She said, watching as surprise flitted across Changbin's face, “We would be lucky to have you now, isn’t that right, Captain Chan?” 

Changbin blinked, looking between Chan and the Admiral. Chan sputtered before speaking. 

“Admiral, how’d you-?” Chan started before breaking off, noticing the glint in her eyes. 

“I know good recruits when I see them, and you do as well, it’s why I made you captain of the Hermes, Christopher.” She said, looking at the both of them. 

“I’d like you to join my crew, Changbin, along with Hyunjin and Jisung, Minho is welcome as well.” Chan said, watching as Changbin thought.

He stayed quiet for a long time, long enough that the rest of the group had begun to notice the trio off to the side. 

Changbin bit his lip, a war raging in his head when the Admiral spoke. 

“You may think you can’t atone for all that you’ve done, hell, there are somethings that we can’t atone for,” She began, eyes holding a light darkness in them, “But I know you can make the universe a better place, even now.”

Changbin looked at the woman in slight awe, before his eyes flickered behind her. Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin all looked at him, smiles on their faces. He looked at Minho, who nodded his head at him. Hyunjin looked pensive as well, eyes catching Changbin’s. His face relaxed, and he smiled small, head nodding as well. Lastly, he looked at Jisung. 

Jisung stood there, hands clasped together, a big smile on his face. He smiled wider when Changbin locked eyes with him. He giggled, nodding his head. 

Changbin’s eyes flickered to the amulet around Jisung’s neck, body aware of the bracelet now resting on his wrist. He looked down, deep in thought, before looking back up at Chan. 

“Alright,” He said, listening o everyone break out into cheers, before speaking again,” But there’s one thing I need to do before I join.”

Chan nodded his head, in slight disbelief. 

“Of course what is it?” Chan asked. 

Changbin smiled softly.

“I’d like to go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, i hope that chapter was okay, I had a hard time writing it, so I hope it was fulfilling. (＞﹏＜)
> 
> sad news, as this story in coming to a close next chapter!!!! wahhh!!! I'll save the mushy stuff for the last chapter ending notes o(TヘTo) but thank you for all that have read, commented and kudoed on this fic, it means a lot. (╥﹏╥)
> 
> Next chapter will be up next week, it will be the very last chapter, and trust me you'll love where it ends! 
> 
> I'll probably say this next chap, but disclaimer!!! I am not a scientist, or an astrophysicist. I'm throwing modern science to the wind, like i've done with everything in this fic, but imma just say that time works the same everywhere in the universe, there's no time moves faster when closer to an object, or black hole or whatever, it moves the same, because i said so. Because the ending I want to happen would actually not be plausible in the real world, due to how time actually travels! 
> 
> but this is fiction, this is for fun, so yeah. I don't claim to know everything about how time works so just bear with me, I know only the basics after a long winded conversation with my super space nerdy father (Whom gave me the love of everything sci-fi and fantasy, so shout-out to dad, this fic is in part thanks to you!!!) 
> 
> my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables), for those of you who are new!
> 
> anywho, enough of me, have a good day, evening, or night and love you all and seeya next week!!! <3


	14. You Are My Home Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty, after much toil and many headaches, after THREE MONTHS, the last chap is here!!! I hope the ending is satisfying enough and hope that it ends well in your eyes! 
> 
> quick disclaimer, i know absolutely the bare minumum about space or physics for that matter, so taking into account how time works when next to objects, the stuff that goes down in this chapter, logically, shouldn't happen, but this is a story, a sci-fi fantasy, to be exact. And for the purposes of this story, time works the same way everywhere.
> 
> kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!!!
> 
> any who, onwards to the finale!!! (ﾉ>ω<)ﾉ :｡･:*:･ﾟ’★,｡･:*:･ﾟ’☆

In the throne room of the Kalurian castle, Admiral Han and the rest of the Union officers, fill in the group about what they found. 

The late King Farias, Casfen’s father, wanted to enslave the planet, run it down and kill off every Kalurian on the surface. He wanted the planet to become theirs, wanted their resources, maybe even their manpower. He cared little about how many lives it would take to get there, and so, he plotted his war.

Casfen, thought his father had become senile. He thought his father would have come up with a more subtle way to take over Kalur, considering they were part of the Galactic Union. Enraged by his father’s lack of foresight, he plotted a coup, killing his father and silencing his mother,  _ permanently.  _

After he had done that, he had sent spies to Kalur, in order to find their weak spot. In just a few days, they had found out that Kisun had wanted to abolish the monarchy on Kalur, and bring in a democratic system that catered to the people. Kisun, would not be a king, but prime minister, a president, a leader that listened to his people. And when he was done with his job, after a period of 4 years, someone else would take his place. 

So, Casfen plotted. After a few days he thought up a scheme. First, he would kill the crown prince, Kisun. If Kisun died, then according to Kalurian law, the second born (if there was any), would have to be wed to the next monarch of the current King’s choosing. Which was a perfect window of opportunity for Casfen. Golxias was a much bigger, much more militarized planet. Kalur had no chance of winning the war, with their smaller army. With that law in place, Casfen could take over Kalur without wasting any more resources, and the whole planet would be entirely his! Besides, there was nothing in the law that stated it couldn’t be a monarch of another planet, was there? 

All Casfen had to do, was get rid of Kisun. 

The perfect opportunity arose when his spies caught wind that the crown prince would be sent to the frontline of battle, particularly the Skar space station to be acting commander. Casfen had almost cried tears of joy, it was as if the universe itself was presenting the Golxian king the means to take over Kalur. 

Kalur was sure that Golxias wouldn’t have known that Kisun was on the Skar space station, but, because of the spies, Kisun was killed. A couple days later, Casfen ordered a full out assault on the Skar space station, watching from his warship gleefully as the station blew up into thousands of metal pieces and debris. 

After that, it was simple. Casfen would go under the pretence of wanting to end the war peacefully, but when he got there, well, that would be a different story. Casfen had Kalur practically in the palm of his hand now. He could do anything, afterall, he did kill the crown prince, who says he couldn’t kill the second prince too? 

And that's what he said to the King and Queen, who trembled before him at his words. Scared out of their minds, and unsure of what to do, both monarchs agreed to Casfen’s treaty, only to spare their youngest son from being taken from them, too. 

_ “There was no other way,” _ Queen Yifun said through tears,  _ “If we denied, then Casfen would order the assassin he had sent to shadow Jisung, to kill him. He had us by our throats. We could’t do a thing, we were helpless, we couldn't bear another loss like that, not again, not ever.” _

The rest after that, was common knowledge. King Aghyun announced the Kalurian law that said the next in line for the throne would be wed to a monarch of his choosing, which in this troubled time for Kalur, would be King Casfen of Golxias. There was the usual spiel about how it would stop the war and solidify relations with the neighbouring planet. The wedding was planned, the date set all until the one thing they did not count on happening, happened. 

Admiral Han smiled as she turned to Changbin. “You unknowingly changed this planet’s future for the better, even if you were here on business.” 

Changbin felt embarrassed, head looking down at the floor. As Changbin stared at the floor, he did not notice the Kalurian King walk towards him, until the man was right in front of him and Jisung, bowing on his knees. 

_ “Father-?”  _ Jisung gasped from beside Changbin. 

Changbin’s eyes widened, taking in the old man’s shaking form.

_ “Please forgive me, my son,”  _ Aghyun stated, before continuing on,  _ “I know I wasn’t much of a father to you, nor was I one to Kisun, but, you and Kisun, were always my most precious children.” _

Jisung’s eyes had now begun to water, taking in the form of his father who kneeled in front of him. The tears began to fall when Yifun walked over to them and did the same as her husband. 

_ “You have no duty to forgive us Jisung, but what I said before, in your room?”  _ Yifun sniffed, tears cascading down her cheeks as she spoke.  _ “I lied. Your happiness was the most important thing, and the fact that I was the reason that took you from where you were most happiest, has made me loathe myself more than ever.” _

Yifun looked at Aghyun, and then Jisung, before her gaze slid over to Changbin. 

With a truely, happy smile, the queen spoke. 

_ “Thank you, for taking such good care of my son,”  _ She looked down, now smiling ruefully before speaking again, “ _ In truth, I had hoped that he had gotten away before we could find him, as selfish as that would have been for the sake of our people, I had only wished for what a mother would wish for, that my son, would be alright.” _

Changbin looked shocked, at a loss for words as the woman bowed her head again. __

Unable to respond, he looked over at Jisung, watching as crystal tears fell from his bright blue eyes. 

_ “Mama-”  _ Jisung sobbed, before falling to his knees and encircling both of his parents into a hug. 

Aghyun leaned into his son’s touch, tears leaking from his old eyes. Yifun smiled, patting her son’s back and burying her face into his neck. 

_ “I love you both, so much!”  _ Jisung wept, arms tightening his hold on his parents. 

_ “I love you too, my little star,”  _ Yifun said, before leaning back, a determined look on her face,  _ “Which is why I have to let you go.” _

Jisung blinked, watching as his father leaned back as well and began to speak. 

_ “You deserve all the good things in the world, Jisung,”  _ Aghyun began, eyes twinkling like Jisung had never seen them do before,  _ “That is why we know that being prince, or king, will not make you happy.” _

Jisung looked confused for a moment, before his eyes widened. 

_ “You’re-You’re letting me go?”  _ He stammered out surprised. 

Aghyun smiled nodding his head as Yifun took her hand and cupped her son’s cheek. 

_ “Go, be free, be happy, explore this vast universe with the people you hold dear, and forever, always be happy, my little star.”  _

The words caused Jisung to break into another round of crying, tears flowing down his face as his mother and father cooed at him. His friends stood around him, happy for their friend. 

Changbin alone, stood there watching Jisung, happy, but with an ache in his heart as he watched. Chan, noticing the forlorn look on the bounty hunter’s face, carefully made his way over.

“I’m glad, that things worked out,” He said as he stood beside Changbin. 

Changbin chuckled, nodding his head slowly. Chan turned to look at him, hand holding out a small holo screen, with coordinates blinking slowly on it.

“Here,” Chan said, “I had my crew transport the coordinates to Earth onto this drive, it’s the fastest route there, and will take you directly to the planet in a few days. It will also help you get past security and law enforcement, as well.”

Changbin looked at Chan, slowly taking the proffered drive from the captain’s hand. 

“Thank you,” Changbin murmured, staring at the drive almost reverently. 

Chan smiled, shaking his head and patting the man on the back. “It’s the least we could do, you did technically save a whole planet from a megalomaniac monarch.”

Changbin chuckled, nodding his head. “I guess I kinda did.”

Looking up, he watched as Felix patted Jisung’s head, cooing at his friend who could not stop crying. Hyunjin smiled happily as he watched, eyes crinkled and mouth wide. Minho leaned down to also comfort Jisung in his own, rough way. 

Changbin smiled, heart warm and alive for the first time in years. Yes, this was what he was missing, wasn’t it?

__ Changbin’s nervous. He hasn’t seen his family in over 7 years. Would they even recognize him after so long? Would he recognize them? His thoughts are all crashing into one another, brain frazzled and worried. What if? What if? What-

A soft touch on his thigh brings him back to reality. He looks down, watching as his previously shaking leg stops. Changbin lets out a soft breath, his own hand coming to rest over top of the one on his thigh. He looks up, eyes connecting with Jisung’s own bright, blue orbs. The prince smiles, a soft and comforting thing, that eases the worries in Changbin’s heart. 

“We’re here,” Hyunjin says softly from behind them. 

There’s slight awe and disbelief in his voice, almost as if he thought he’d never see his home planet again. Changbin’s free hand tightens on the wheel, watching as they pass through the space station security without delay. As soon as they’re in range of the planet’s atmosphere, Hyunjin nervously inputs the coordinates to their town. 

The ship glides them through the layers of the stratosphere without delay, gliding towards their destination. 

Jisung swallows up the sight of the cities they pass when they make it to the country the two were born in. He watches the sparkle and shine fade as they make their way to a more rural area. A quaint little town, although technologically advanced, that seemed a little smaller and quieter than the rest of the country they were in. It was like it didn’t even belong, almost as if they had jumped back centuries ago. 

They pass overhead the town, making for the outskirts. Fewer houses, old ones, spaced apart with large grassy properties speckled the land. They flew for a little bit, passing a few houses, before one with dark blue shutters and sky blue panels came into view. Changbin felt his breath catch in his throat, the sight of his childhood home causing a flood of memories to enter his head. Hyunjin leaves his place beside the navigation board, slowly walking forward as he drinks in the sight of the house.

The ship carefully makes it’s descent, landing a couple hundred metres from the front of the house. Both Changbin and Hyunjin are frozen as the ship finishes up the last few landing protocols, before powering down. Changbin sits there, while Hyunjin stands to his left, both not even blinking as they look at the house. 

Jisung smiles, waiting patiently for the two to gather up the courage to move forward. After a few moments, a figure appears from the front door of the house. All three turn their attention to the person, watching as they hesitantly stand on the front porch, before descending the stairs. As the person walks closer, Changbin feels his throat tighten. 

She’s older now, but even time has not managed to take away the smiling look always present in her eyes. There’s thin streaks of gray in her black hair, now done up in a low bun. She wears an apron around her waist, speckled with flowers and leaves. Her white t-shirt is clean, her blue jeans a little scruffy and worn, lived in.

Jisung looks beside him, carefully grasping Changbin’s hand. 

_ “Come on,” _ He murmurs, watching as Changbin rips his eyes away from the woman. 

Changbin’s eyes are wet, but the tears have yet to fall. He looks at Jisung, before looking back at his mother. He gets up. 

They make it to the hangar, Jisung holding Changbin’s hand the whole way there. Hyunjin walks to Changbin’s left, teeth nervously chewing at his lip. Jisung gently presses the button to open the hangar door, watching as it lowers slowly to the ground. 

Changbin’s breath catches in his throat, as he spots another person coming from behind the woman. When the hangar door lands with a soft thump on the ground, he feels a gentle hand push him forward. 

He turns to look at Jisung, who nods in the direction of the woman gently. His eyes are kind, and his touch is soft on Changbin’s arm. 

Shakily, Changbin walks out of the dark hangar and slowly down the ramp. He watches the woman eye him, almost confused, before shock and recognition flow through her face. So many emotions pass through her eyes, as Changbin walks towards her. He stops, just a foot away. 

Tears are now streaming down the woman’s face, sobs racking her body as she smiles in almost disbelief. Her hand comes up as she walks a little closer to him, gently resting on his cheek. Changbin lets out a shaky breath, words almost caught in his throat before he chokes them out. 

“I’m home,  _ eomma, _ ” He rasps out, tears finally falling down his cheeks. 

A harsh sob comes from the woman’s mouth, before she flings her arms around Changbin, holding onto him as if he would just suddenly disappear. 

“W-welcome home, Changbin-ah, welcome home.” She sniffles out, rubbing his back as Changbin clutches onto her like a lifeline. 

Hyunjin steps away from Jisung, watching the scene with a slight ache in where his heart should be. He slowly steps down the ramp, watching as her eyes flickering to him. More tears fall down her face as he pulls away just enough to reach an arm out to Hyunjin. He curses Minho for installing a function that made him mimic crying, unable to stop the flow of liquid from what would be his tear ducts.

“Hyunjinnie,” Changbin’s mother sobs out, as he walks the last few steps and falls into the woman’s outstretched arm. 

She hugs to the two boys close, fearful that this moment was naught but a dream. Finally she pulls back from them after a long while. She smiles, wiping the tears from her face before speaking. 

“Look at you,” She says, a proud smile on her face, “You’ve both grown up so well.”

Hyunjin feels more tears roll down his cheeks, knowing that the meeting with his own mother would be much more tearful. Changbin smiles at his mother looking over her shoulder and catching the eye of the young teen standing a few feet behind her. Changbin gently drops his mother’s hand, carefully making his way to the teen. 

The young man stares at him, expression blank, until Changbin gets only a metre away from him. Then the walls fall, the boy rushes him, a sob tearing from his throat as he hugs Changbin. Changbin wraps his arms aroundHyunwoo, tears leaking down his face as his brother sobbed into his shoulder. 

“Shh, it's okay,” Changbin murmurs, patting his head and rubbing his back, “Hyung’s here now.”

Jisung stands at the top of the ramp, eyes wet as crystal tears dropped down his cheeks. He lets them reunite in silence, not wanting to ruin the moment with his presence. Unfortunately, Changbin doesn’t let him, gently letting his brother go and turning to look at him from where he stood. Both Changbin’s mother and brother turn to look at where Changbin is looking. 

Changbin walks towards the ramp, stopping at the bottom of it, hand reaching out for Jisung. 

Jisung sniffles, shaking his head. Changbin shakes his head back, a gentle smile on his face. 

“Come on, I want you to meet her.”

Jisung looks at Changbin, a slight nervousness in his heart as he carefully comes down the ramp, and out of the darkness. He takes Changbin’s hand before looking at Changbin’s mother and brother. He’s terrified, but all of that melts away when Changbin’s mother walks up to the pair, her eyes full of joy. 

“Mom, this is Jisung,” Changbin says, staring at Jisung with soft eyes. 

Jisung blushes under Changbin’s stare, embarrassed at the amount of affection that Changbin was showing him. 

Changbin’s mother's smile widens, when she notices the necklace hanging around his neck. She gently grasps Jisung’s free hand in her’s, Jisung looking at the woman in wonder. 

“Thank you,” She said, watching as Jisung’s eyes widened, “For being beside my son and Hyunjin.”

Jisung looked at her in awe, before a bright smile appeared on his face. He nodded, watching as she smiled happily before looking between the two. 

“Your coincidentally just in time for dinner, Hyunjinnie’s parents are coming over as well, and you know how I get when company comes over,” She said with a small laugh.

Changbin chuckled, “You tend to go a little overboard, mom.”

She laughed, a bright hearty sound that sent pangs of warmth through Changbin’s chest and heart. 

“Come on,” She said, beckoning the trio with her hand, “You must be aching for some real food.”

The meeting with Hyunjin’s parents was much the same, Hyunjin’s mother and father clutching onto their now returned son. It was a beautiful moment, one that Jisung was sure to remember for years to come. Dinner was eventful, to say the least. Thankfully, Hyunjin’s parents and Changbin’s family, were all equipped with TransCOMMs, making the conversation flow easier when the trio realized they didn’t have to translate for Jisung. 

Dinner was good, and JIsung happily praised Hyejin, Changbin’s mother for her cooking. And in return, she teased him about his relationship with her son. Jisung had never been so red in his entire life. Changbin had chuckled, patting his back as he tried to will the red from his cheeks. 

After dinner, Changbin and Hyunjin had sat their parents down and told them what had happened in the years they had been gone. There were sad moments, angry ones, happy ones, and then the ones with Jisung. Changbin and Hyunjin smiled and lit up so much when they recounted their journey with Jisung, who smiled bashfully. 

When the stories ended to where they were now, conversation took a lighter turn. When Hyunwoo had everyone’s eyes on him as he relayed an incredilb;y hilarious tale of him and his friends at the Galactic Union Academy takinga ship out for ngiht, Changbin took Jisung’s hand and they slipped away. 

Jisung, although wanting to hear how the story ended, followed Changbin curiously. Changbin led him up through the house, up until Changbin was in his old room. He let go of Jisung’s hand, causing Jisung to take in everything. Changbin’s room had not been touched since he had been taken, Hyejin not having the heart to do anything to her oldest son’s room. Jisung smiled, looking at the photos he had of Hyunjin and him when they were small, all plastered on one wall with pictures of planets galore and galaxies aplenty. 

“Come on,”

Jisung turned to the window, Changbin already crouched on the roof outside of it. Changbin held his hand out, Jisung walking over and taking it as he carefully climbed out the window and onto the roof. Changbin helped him stand up, leading him slowly to a spot on the roof where they could sit and look up at the stars.

When Jisung turned his head up, he gasped, because the sight was so beautiful, he was at a loss for words. Hundreds upon thousands of stars lit up the sky, blinking and twinkling in the dark. They were all different colours and sizes, all scattered in their places across the night sky. 

“That strip of stars right there? That's our galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy.” Changbin explained, pointing his finger up to a strip of white stars in the sky. 

Jisung smiled brighter, eyes lighting up when he recognized the constellations that Changbin had taught him. He started to point them out, happily relaying the information that Changbin had told him.

_ “I love you.”  _

Jisung gasps softly, head slowly turning to look at Changbin next to him. His eyes twinkle like the stars they're currently gazing at, his mouth open in surprise as he gazes at Changbin in wonder. He doesn’t say anything, still trying to process what the other said, or wondering if he had just misheard him. 

Changbin huffs, shifting awkwardly as he begins to ramble, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. 

“Fuck, I knew Hyunjin was screwing with me,” Changbin begins, ruffling his hair annoyed, “Little shit, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him with-”

_ "I love you too!”  _ Jisung blurts out.

Changbin stops speaking, looking up at Jisung. His eyes look like they hold entire galaxies in them, billions of tiny little stars reflecting from his eyes. 

Heart stuttering in his chest, Changbin speaks. “What?”

Jisung flushes bright red, eyes flickering downwards as he plays with his fingers in his lap. 

_ “I-I love you too,” _ He murmurs softly, so much love held in his voice.

Changbin blushes, gently taking Jisung’s hand into his own. His thumb brushing over the soft skin of his knuckles. He chuckles breathlessly, eyes locked on their interlocked hands. Changbin rips his gaze from their hands to look at Jisung. 

Once his eyes meet the flushed visage of the Kalurian prince, Changbin feels a comforting warmth envelop his heart. Jisung’s eyes keep skittering to the side, unable to face the other. Changbin smiles, fond, before reaching for the other’s chin with his free hand. Jisung lets out a little gasp, eyes fluttering shut when Changbin captures his lips in a soft kiss. 

And under the light of a billion stars, Changbin finally comes home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading, for liking this piece of work. It is an extension of myself, and something I have worked on since last year. There will never be enough words to convey how happy I was to see this story get this much love, and bring emotions so fierce out of everyone who read it. I write for myself, and for those who wish to read the hard wrought words I have put together after many hours of either quiet or music-filled deliberation. 
> 
> Every hour, every minute, every little second I spent on this fic was not a wasted effort. Every comment and every kudo fuelled me greatly and made me strive to write better stories for all that would listen. this is the very first chaptered fic I have ever finished, and I'm glad it was this one. The ride was full of ups and downs, which i navigated as best as i know we all tried to during this awful year. Yet, I hope my story was one of the many little things that made this year, just a bit more bearable. 
> 
> Again, thank you all so much for loving this fic, it means the world to me. 
> 
> For those wondering what I will be working on next, it will probably be the fic that i have been working on with win, so pls wait for the exciting first chapter of that fic! I will also be working on new chapters for Scarlet Lips, Cerulean Eyes, as well as new additions for The Meaning of Flowers series. Calling For You is on hold, for now, but i will return to it because it holds a special place in my heart, just like all my fics do! 
> 
> As always, have a good day, evening, or night, and love you all from the bottom of my heart! <3
> 
> finn out!

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly reminder that updates will be sporadic, so check my [twitter](https://twitter.com/f1nnsfables) or pop into my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Finnoola)!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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